CROSS

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 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. (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

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. annoyed and 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

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

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)

Derivation:

cross (trace a line through or across)

Sense 3

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 resembling the letter x, 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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sense 4

Meaning:

Any affliction that causes great suffering

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

cross; crown of thorns

Context example:

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)

Derivation:

cross (hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of)

Sense 5

Meaning:

(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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

cross; crossbreed; hybrid

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)

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

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))

Derivation:

cross (breed animals or plants using parents of different races and varieties)

Sense 6

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:

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

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"):

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)

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

Derivation:

cross (breed animals or plants using parents of different races and varieties)

• CROSS (adjective)

Declension: comparative and superlative

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

cross; thwartwise; transversal; transverse

Context example:

transverse colon

Similar:

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

Annoyed and irritable

Synonyms:

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

Similar:

ill-natured (having an irritable and unpleasant disposition)

Derivation:

crossness (a disposition to be ill-tempered)

• CROSS (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Travel across or pass over

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

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

Context example:

The caravan covered almost 100 miles each day

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

pass (go across or through)

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

ford (cross a river where it's shallow)

hop (traverse as if by a short airplane trip)

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)

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

Derivation:

crossing (traveling across)

crossing (a path (often marked) where something (as a street or railroad) can be crossed to get from one side to the other)

crossing (a voyage across a body of water (usually across the Atlantic Ocean))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Meet at a point

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

cross; intersect

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

Derivation:

crossing (a junction where one street or road crosses another)

crossing (a point where two lines (paths or arcs etc.) intersect)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

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

Context example:

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)

Derivation:

cross (any affliction that causes great suffering)

Sense 4

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

Meaning:

To cover or extend over an area or time period

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

cross; span; sweep; traverse

Context example:

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

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

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

Derivation:

cross (a marking that consists of lines that cross each other)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Breed animals or plants using parents of different races and varieties

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

cross; crossbreed; hybridise; hybridize; interbreed

Context example:

these species do not interbreed

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

breed (cause to procreate (animals))

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

backcross (mate a hybrid of the first generation with one of its parents)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

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

cross ((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)

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

 Context examples 

Finally he drove round to the Charing Cross telegraph office, sent off a message, and then, at last, we made for Baker Street once more.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A walk of five minutes took us to Cross Street, where Miss Cushing resided.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was a labyrinth of an old house, with corridors, passages, narrow winding staircases, and little low doors, the thresholds of which were hollowed out by the generations who had crossed them.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Martin knew of the enormous gulf between him and this man—the gulf the books had made; but he found no difficulty in crossing back over that gulf.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"At the East, not far from here," said one, "there is a great desert, and none could live to cross it."

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

It had four steps, and a stone to cross over when you came to the uppermost.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Nor did he give the wounded bull opportunity to slake his burning thirst in the slender trickling streams they crossed.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

When we started, the crowd round the inn door, which had by this time swelled to a considerable size, all made the sign of the cross and pointed two fingers towards me.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The sister who had not my letter, had her arms crossed on her breast, and resting on each other, like an Idol.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

"And never does he cross the lake large as the sky, nor see the land under the sun where there is no snow."

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)