Cross-

prefix

prefix ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Prefix
  1. 1
    Shaped like a cross or X; crossing lines. morpheme

    "e.g. crossbody, crossbuck, cross-stitch"

  2. 2
    Perpendicular in angle; transverse. morpheme

    "e.g. crossbedding, crossband, crossmember"

  3. 3
    Moving from one side to the other; across. morpheme

    "e.g. crossfield, cross-city. When used for a rectangular space, this movement is typically diagonal, such as in crossbelt and crosscourt."

  4. 4
    Moving from one side to the other; across.; Moving from one track or state to another. figuratively, morpheme

    "e.g. crossfeed as the process of blending the left and right channels of a stereo recording, crossfader, cross-link"

  5. 5
    Moving from one side to the other; across.; On the opposite side of. morpheme

    "e.g. crosstown, cross-cousin, cross-ratio"

Show 9 more definitions
  1. 6
    Moving or acting against, opposing, contrary. morpheme

    "e.g. crossflow, cross-beat, cross-vote"

  2. 7
    Located in between. Often, but not necessarily, forming an H-shaped structure. morpheme

    "e.g. cross-passage, cross-tunnel, crossfire"

  3. 8
    More than one, often in indicating applicability to several domains that are usually separate. morpheme

    "e.g. crosslingual, cross-browser, crossfunctional, cross-cultural"

  4. 9
    More than one, often in indicating applicability to several domains that are usually separate.; Involving two or more at the same time; coincident. morpheme

    "e.g. crossbreak, crosspost, crosscurrent"

  5. 10
    More than one, often in indicating applicability to several domains that are usually separate.; Comparing two sources of information, often to verify their contents. morpheme

    "e.g. crossdate, crossvalidated, crosscovariance"

  6. 11
    More than one, often in indicating applicability to several domains that are usually separate.; To combine two entities to create a hybrid. morpheme

    "e.g. crossbreed, cross-pollinate, crosslinear"

  7. 12
    Mutual exchange or influence, where both entities are affected in the same way. Mutuality. morpheme

    "e.g. crosstalk, crossrepression, crosscalibration, cross-progress"

  8. 13
    One entity affecting a similar entity, such as to transfer of one property from one entity to the other. morpheme

    "e.g. crossregulation, crossfeed, crossprotection"

  9. 14
    Alternate, different. morpheme

    "e.g. cross-tune, cross-birth, cross-live"

Example

More examples

"e.g. crossbody, crossbuck, cross-stitch"

Etymology

From Middle English cros-, crosse- (“relating to a cross, forming a cross, in the shape of a cross or x”), from the noun (see cross) and also from across.

Related phrases

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