cross
UK /kɹɒs/ · US /kɹɔs/ noun, adjective, preposition, verb, proper noun
Forms crosses crosser crossest crossing crossed crossedst crosseth
- noun A geometrical figure consisting of two straight lines or bars intersecting each other such that at least one of them is bisected by the other. “Put a cross for a wrong answer and a tick for a right one.”
- noun (heraldry) Any geometric figure having this or a similar shape, such as a cross of Lorraine or a Maltese cross.
- noun A wooden post with a perpendicular beam attached and used (especially in the Roman Empire) to execute criminals (by crucifixion). “Criminals were commonly executed on a wooden cross.”
- noun (Christianity) A hand gesture made in imitation of the shape of the Cross; sign of the cross. “She made the cross after swearing.”
- noun (Christianity) Any representation of the crucifix, as in religious architecture, burial markers, jewelry, etc. “She was wearing a cross on her necklace.”
- noun (figurative, from Christ's bearing of the cross) A difficult situation that must be endured. “It's a cross I must bear.”
- noun The act of going across; the act of passing from one side to the other “A quick cross of the road.”
- noun (biology) An animal or plant produced by crossbreeding or cross-fertilization.
- adjective Transverse; lying across the main direction. “At the end of each row were cross benches which linked the rows.”
- adjective (archaic) Opposite, opposed to. “His actions were perversely cross to his own happiness.”
- adjective (now rare) Opposing, adverse; being contrary to what one would hope or wish for.
- adjective (chiefly UK, Ottawa Valley) (of someone) Bad-tempered, angry, annoyed; (of words) tinged with anger. “They exchanged a few cross words.”
- adjective Made in an opposite direction, or an inverse relation; mutually inverse; interchanged.
- adjective (nautical) Of the sea, having two wave systems traveling at oblique angles, due to the wind over shifting direction or the waves of two storm systems meeting.
- adjective (archaic) Dishonest.
- preposition (archaic) Across. “She walked cross the mountains.”
- preposition The cross product of the previous vector and the following vector. “The Lorentz force is q times v cross B.”
- verb To place across or athwart; to cause to intersect. “She frowned and crossed her arms.”
- verb To lay or draw something across, such as a line. “to cross the letter t”
- verb To mark with an X. “Cross the box which applies to you.”
Synonyms
crucifix sign of the cross hybrid contrarily opposed reverse antipodal angry annoyed irritated cross-fertilize crossbreed Holy Cross True Cross crisscross mark crown of thorns hybridization hybridisation crossbreeding crossing interbreeding hybridizing traverse track cover pass over get over get across cut through
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English cross, cros, from Old English cros (“rood, cross”), from Old Norse kross, from Old Irish cros, from Latin crux (crucī). In this sense displaced native Middle English rode, from Old English rōd (“cross”); see English rood. Doublet of crouch (“cross”) and crux. Compare Welsh croes, Irish crois.
The sense of "two intersecting lines drawn or cut on a surface; two lines intersecting at right angles" without regard to religious signification develops from the late 14th century.
* As an English surname, from the noun cross, as in crossroads. Also a calque of this word in various European languages, such as French Lacroix, German Kreutz, Serbo-Croatian Križ. Compare Crouch, Crozier, Kriz.
* As an Irish surname, shortened from McCrossen.
* As a German surname, Americanized from Kross, from Middle Low German krus (“pitcher, vessel”), which is possibly an old Germanic borrowing of Ancient Greek κρωσσός (krōssós, “pitcher, pail, urn”). Also a variant of Kress.
Webster’s 1913
- noun 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.
- noun 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.
- adjective Not parallel; lying or falling athwart; transverse; oblique; intersecting.
- adjective Not accordant with what is wished or expected; interrupting; adverse; contrary; thwarting; perverse. "A cross fortune." Jer.
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.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cross”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details