cross Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a wooden structure consisting of an upright post with a transverse piece
  2. noun a marking that consists of lines that cross each other
    crisscross; mark.
  3. noun a representation of the structure on which Jesus was crucified; used as an emblem of Christianity or in heraldry
  4. noun any affliction that causes great suffering
    crown of thorns.
    • that is his cross to bear
    • he bears his afflictions like a crown of thorns
  5. noun (genetics) an organism that is the offspring of genetically dissimilar parents or stock; especially offspring produced by breeding plants or animals of different varieties or breeds or species
    crossbreed; hybrid.
    • a mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey
  6. noun (genetics) the act of mixing different species or varieties of animals or plants and thus to produce hybrids
    crossbreeding; crossing; hybridizing; hybridisation; interbreeding; hybridization.
  7. verb travel across or pass over
    traverse; track; pass over; get across; cover; cut through; get over; cut across.
    • The caravan covered almost 100 miles each day
  8. verb meet at a point
    intersect.
  9. verb hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of
    thwart; bilk; frustrate; baffle; foil; spoil; queer; scotch.
    • What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge
    • foil your opponent
  10. verb fold so as to resemble a cross
    • she crossed her legs
  11. verb to cover or extend over an area or time period
    traverse; span; sweep.
    • Rivers traverse the valley floor", "The parking lot spans 3 acres
    • The novel spans three centuries
  12. verb meet and pass
    • the trains crossed
  13. verb trace a line through or across
    • cross your `t'
  14. verb breed animals or plants using parents of different races and varieties
    hybridize; interbreed; crossbreed; hybridise.
    • cross a horse and a donkey
    • Mendel tried crossbreeding
    • these species do not interbreed
  15. adjective satellite extending or lying across; in a crosswise direction; at right angles to the long axis
    thwartwise; transversal; transverse.
    • cross members should be all steel
    • from the transverse hall the stairway ascends gracefully
    • transversal vibrations
    • transverse colon
  16. adjective satellite annoyed and irritable
    crabby; grouchy; ill-tempered; crabbed; bad-tempered; grumpy; fussy.

WordNet

Cross noun
Etymology
OE. crois, croys, cros; the former fr. OF. crois, croiz, F. croix, fr. L. crux; the second is perh. directly fr. Prov. cros, crotz. fr. the same L. crux; cf. Icel. kross. Cf. Crucial, Crusade, Cruise, Crux.
Definitions
  1. A gibbet, cosisting of two pieces of timber placed transversely upon one another, in various forms, as a T, or +, with the horizontal piece below the upper end of the upright, or as an X. It was anciently used in the execution of criminals.
    Nailed to the cross By his own nation. Milton.
  2. The sign or mark of the cross, made with the finger, or in ink, etc., or actually represented in some material; the symbol of Christ's death; the ensign and chosen symbol of Christianity, of a Christian people, and of Christendom.
    The custom of making the sign of the cross with the hand or finger, as a means of conferring blessing or preserving from evil, is very old. Schaff-Herzog Encyc.
    Before the cross has waned the crescent's ray. Sir W. Scott.
    Tis where the cross is preached. Cowper.
  3. Affiction regarded as a test of patience or virtue; trial; disappointment; opposition; misfortune.
    Heaven prepares a good man with crosses. B. Jonson.
  4. A piece of money stamped with the figure of a cross, also, that side of such a piece on which the cross is stamped; hence, money in general.
    I should bear no cross if I did bear you; for I think you have no money in your purse. Shak.
  5. An appendage or ornament or anything in the form of a cross; a badge or ornamental device of the general shape of a cross; hence, such an ornament, even when varying considerably from that form; thus, the Cross of the British Order of St. George and St. Michael consist of a central medallion with seven arms radiating from it.
  6. (Arch.) A monument in the form of a cross, or surmounted bu a cross, set up in a public place; as, a market cross; a boundary cross; Charing Cross in London.
    Dun-Edin's Cross, a pillared stone, Rose on a turret octagon. Sir W. Scott.
  7. (Her.) A common heraldic bearing, of which there are many varieties. See the Illustration, above.
  8. The crosslike mark or symbol used instead of a signature by those unable to write.
    Five Kentish abbesses . . . .subscribed their names and crosses. Fuller.
  9. Church lands. Ireland Obs. Sir J. Davies.
  10. A line drawn across or through another line.
  11. Hence: A mixing of breeds or stock, especially in cattle breeding; or the product of such intermixture; a hybrid of any kind.
    Toning down the ancient Viking into a sort of a cross between Paul Jones and Jeremy Diddler. Lord Dufferin.
  12. (Surveying) An instrument for laying of offsets perpendicular to the main course.
  13. (Mech.) A pipe-fitting with four branches the axes of which usually form's right angle.
Cross adjective
Definitions
  1. Not parallel; lying or falling athwart; transverse; oblique; intersecting.
    The cross refraction of the second prism. Sir I. Newton.
  2. Not accordant with what is wished or expected; interrupting; adverse; contrary; thwarting; perverse. "A cross fortune." Jer. Taylor.
    The cross and unlucky issue of my design. Glanvill.
    The article of the resurrection seems to lie marvelously cross to the common experience of mankind. South.
    We are both love's captives, but with fates so cross, One must be happy by the other's loss. Dryden.
  3. Characterized by, or in a state of, peevishness, fretfullness, or ill humor; as, a cross man or woman.
    He had received a cross answer from his mistress. Jer. Taylor.
  4. Made in an opposite direction, or an inverse relation; mutually inverse; interchanged; as, cross interrogatories; cross marriages, as when a brother and sister marry persons standing in the same relation to each other. Syn. -- Fretful; peevish. See Fretful.
Cross preposition
Definitions
  1. Athwart; across. Archaic or Colloq. A fox was taking a walk one night cross a village. L'Estrange.
Cross transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Crossed present participle & verbal noun Crossing
Definitions
  1. To put across or athwart; to cause to intersect; as, to cross the arms.
  2. To lay or draw something, as a line, across; as, to cross the letter t.
  3. To pass from one side to the other of; to pass or move over; to traverse; as, to cross a stream.
    A hunted hare . . . crosses and confounds her former track. I. Watts.
  4. To pass, as objects going in an opposite direction at the same time. "Your kind letter crossed mine." J. D. Forbes.
  5. To run counter to; to thwart; to obstruct; to hinder; to clash or interfere with.
    In each thing give him way; cross him in nothing. Shak.
    An oyster may be crossed onlove. Sheridan.
  6. To interfere and cut off; to debar. Obs.
    To cross me from the golden time I look for. Shak.
  7. To make the sign of the cross upon; -- followed by the reflexive pronoun; as, he crossed himself.
  8. To cancel by marking crosses on or over, or drawing a line across; to erase; -- usually with out, off, or over; as, to cross out a name.
  9. To cause to interbreed; -- said of different stoocks or races; to mix the breed of. Macualay.
Cross intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To lie or be athwart.
  2. To move or pass from one side to the other, or from place to place; to make a transit; as, to cross from New York to Liverpool.
  3. To be inconsistent. Obs.
    Men's actions do not always cross with reason. Sir P. Sidney.
  4. To interbreed, as races; to mix distinct breeds.
    If two individuals of distinct races cross, a third is invariably produced different from either. Coleridge.

Webster 1913