CROSS

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Cross mean? 

• CROSS (noun)
  The noun CROSS has 6 senses:

1. a wooden structure consisting of an upright post with a transverse piece
2. a marking that consists of lines that cross each other
3. a representation of the structure on which Jesus was crucified; used as an emblem of Christianity or in heraldry
4. any affliction that causes great suffering
5. 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
6. (genetics) the act of mixing different species or varieties of animals or plants and thus to produce hybrids

  Familiarity information: CROSS used as a noun is common.

• CROSS (adjective)
  The adjective CROSS has 2 senses:

1. extending or lying across; in a crosswise direction; at right angles to the long axis
2. perversely irritable

  Familiarity information: CROSS used as an adjective is rare.

• CROSS (verb)
  The verb CROSS has 8 senses:

1. travel across or pass over
2. meet at a point
3. hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of
4. fold so as to resemble a cross
5. to cover or extend over an area or time period
6. meet and pass
7. trace a line through or across
8. breed animals or plants using parents of different races and varieties

  Familiarity information: CROSS used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CROSS (noun)

Sense 1

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A wooden structure consisting of an upright post with a transverse piece

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("cross" is a kind of...):

construction; structure (a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts)

Sense 2

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A marking that consists of lines that cross each other

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

crisscross; cross; mark

Hypernyms ("cross" is a kind of...):

marking (a pattern of marks)

Sense 3

Cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

A representation of the structure on which Jesus was crucified; used as an emblem of Christianity or in heraldry

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("Cross" is a kind of...):

emblem (special design or visual object representing a quality, type, group, etc.)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Cross"):

St. Anthony's cross; tau cross (cross resembling the Greek letter tau)

saltire; St. Andrew's cross (a cross with diagonal bars of equal length)

patriarchal cross (a cross with two crossbars)

papal cross (a cross with three crossbars)

Maltese cross (a cross with triangular or arrow-shaped arms and the points toward the center)

cross of Lorraine; Lorraine cross (a cross with two crossbars, one above and one below the midpoint of the vertical, the lower longer than the upper)

Latin cross (a cross with the lowest arm being longer than the others)

Calvary cross; cross of Calvary (a Latin cross set on three steps)

Celtic cross (a Latin cross with a ring surrounding the intersection)

crucifix; rood; rood-tree (representation of the cross on which Jesus died)

Greek cross (a cross with each of the four arms the same length)

Jerusalem cross (a cross with equal arms, each terminating in a small crossbar)

Sense 4

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Any affliction that causes great suffering

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

crown of thorns; cross

Context examples:

that is his cross to bear / he bears his afflictions like a crown of thorns

Hypernyms ("cross" is a kind of...):

affliction (a state of great suffering and distress due to adversity)

Sense 5

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

crossbreed; hybrid; cross

Context example:

a mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey

Hypernyms ("cross" is a kind of...):

being; organism (a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cross"):

monohybrid (a hybrid produced by crossing parents that are homozygous except for a single gene locus that has two alleles (as in Mendel's experiments with garden peas))

dihybrid (a hybrid produced by parents that differ only at two gene loci that have two alleles each)

crossbred (a hybrid (especially an animal produced by a cross between two pure breeds))

Sense 6

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

(genetics) the act of mixing different species or varieties of animals or plants and thus to produce hybrids

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

crossbreeding; hybridisation; hybridization; hybridizing; interbreeding; cross; crossing

Hypernyms ("cross" is a kind of...):

conjugation; coupling; mating; pairing; sexual union; union (the act of pairing a male and female for reproductive purposes)

Domain category:

genetic science; genetics (the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cross"):

dihybrid cross (hybridization using two traits with two alleles each)

monohybrid cross (hybridization using a single trait with two alleles (as in Mendel's experiments with garden peas))

reciprocal; reciprocal cross (hybridization involving a pair of crosses that reverse the sexes associated with each genotype)

test-cross; testcross (a cross between an organism whose genotype for a certain trait is unknown and an organism that is homozygous recessive for that trait so the unknown genotype can be determined from that of the offspring)

• CROSS (adjective)

Sense 1

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Extending or lying across; in a crosswise direction; at right angles to the long axis

Synonyms:

cross; thwartwise; transversal; transverse

Context examples:

cross members should be all steel / from the transverse hall the stairway ascends gracefully / transversal vibrations / transverse colon

Similar:

crosswise (lying or extending across the length of a thing or in a cross direction)

Sense 2

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Perversely irritable

Synonyms:

ill-tempered; grumpy; grouchy; fussy; crabby; crabbed; bad-tempered; cross

Similar:

ill-natured (having an irritable and unpleasant disposition)

• CROSS (verb)

Sense 1

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Travel across or pass over

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

get over; cut through; cut across; cross; traverse; get across; pass over; track; cover

Context example:

The caravan covered almost 100 miles each day

Hypernyms (to "cross" is one way to...):

go across; go through; pass (go across or through)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cross"):

hop (make a quick trip especially by air)

course (move swiftly through or over)

drive; take (proceed along in a vehicle)

jaywalk (cross the road at a red light)

bridge (cross over on a bridge)

ford (cross a river where it's shallow)

crisscross (cross in a pattern, often random)

walk (traverse or cover by walking)

stride (cover or traverse by taking long steps)

tramp (cross on foot)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

These men cross the river

Sense 2

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Meet at a point

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

intersect; cross

Hypernyms (to "cross" is one way to...):

come across; encounter; meet; run across; run into; see (come together)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cross"):

cross (meet and pass)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

Our properties cross at this point
His fields cross mine at this point

Sense 3

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

queer; frustrate; thwart; scotch; foil; baffle; bilk; cross; spoil

Context examples:

What ultimately frustrated every challenger was Ruth's amazing September surge / foil your opponent

Hypernyms (to "cross" is one way to...):

forbid; foreclose; forestall; preclude; prevent (keep from happening or arising; make impossible)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cross"):

disappoint; let down (fail to meet the hopes or expectations of)

dash (destroy or break)

short-circuit (hamper the progress of; impede)

ruin (destroy or cause to fail)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

Sam cannot cross Sue

Also:

double cross (betray by double-dealing)

Sense 4

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Fold so as to resemble a cross

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

she crossed her legs

Hypernyms (to "cross" is one way to...):

fold; fold up; turn up (bend or lay so that one part covers the other)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

uncross (change from a crossed to an uncrossed position)

Sense 5

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

To cover or extend over an area or time period

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

span; traverse; cross; sweep

Context examples:

Rivers traverse the valley floor / The parking lot spans 3 acres / The novel spans three centuries

Hypernyms (to "cross" is one way to...):

continue; cover; extend (span an interval of distance, space or time)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 6

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Meet and pass

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

the trains crossed

Hypernyms (to "cross" is one way to...):

cross; intersect (meet at a point)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "cross"):

decussate (cross or intersect so as to form a cross)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 7

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Trace a line through or across

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Context example:

cross your 't'

Hypernyms (to "cross" is one way to...):

write (mark or trace on a surface)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 8

cross [BACK TO TOP]

Meaning:

Breed animals or plants using parents of different races and varieties

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

crossbreed; hybridise; hybridize; interbreed; cross

Context examples:

cross a horse and a donkey / Mendel tried crossbreeding / these species do not interbreed

Hypernyms (to "cross" is one way to...):

breed (cause to procreate (animals))

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something