Across

//əˈkɹɒs// adv, noun, prep

adv, noun, prep ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A word that runs horizontally in the completed puzzle grid or its associated clue. in-compounds, often

    "I solved all of the acrosses, but then got stuck on 3 down."

Adverb
  1. 1
    From one side to the other. not-comparable

    "she helped the blind man across; the river is half a mile across"

  2. 2
    On the other side. not-comparable

    "If we sail off at noon, when will we be across?"

  3. 3
    In a particular direction. not-comparable

    "He leaned across for a book."

  4. 4
    Horizontally. not-comparable

    "I got stuck on 4 across."

Adverb
  1. 1
    transversely wordnet
  2. 2
    to the opposite side wordnet
Preposition
  1. 1
    To, toward, or from the far side of (something that lies between two points of interest).

    "We rowed across the river."

  2. 2
    On the opposite side of (something that lies between two points of interest).

    "That store is across the street."

  3. 3
    across from: on the opposite side, relative to something that lies between, from (a point of interest). Southern-US

    "And make sure you're parked across the mall in the outside lot. […] Last time I was there, I parked in a parking structure and paid an arm and a leg for it."

  4. 4
    From one side to the other within (a space being traversed).

    "The meteor streaked across the sky."

  5. 5
    At or near the far end of (a space).

    ""Mam's baking and Cathleen's asleep. I've got a pile of washing bubbling in the copper, so I'd best be off." With that she was across the room and out the door."

Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    Spanning.

    "This poetry speaks across the centuries."

  2. 7
    Throughout.

    "All across the country, voters were communicating their representatives."

  3. 8
    So as to intersect or pass through or over at an angle.

    "Lay the top stick across the bottom one."

  4. 9
    In possession of full, up-to-date information about; abreast of.

    "Keep across all the latest news here at Channel 10."

Synonyms

All synonyms
athwartcrosswaysthwarttransverselyacross the grainagainst

Example

More examples

"Jimmy tried to cajole his parents into letting him drive across the country with his friends."

Etymology

From Middle English acros, from early Middle English a-croiz, a-creoyz, from Anglo-Norman an (“in, on”) + croiz (“in the form of a cross”). More at cross. By surface analysis, a- + cross.

Related phrases

across countryacross fromacross lotsacross the boardacross the ditchacross the lineacross the pondacross the wayacross variableacross-the-boardbroad across the beambump across

More for "across"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.