Library / English Dictionary

CROSS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

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)

Derivation:

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

Sense 2

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

Example:

a mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey

Synonyms:

cross; crossbreed; hybrid

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

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 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)

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

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)

Sense 4

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 5

Meaning:

A marking that consists of lines that cross each other

Synonyms:

crisscross; cross; mark

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

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

marking (a pattern of marks)

Derivation:

cross (trace a line through or across)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Any affliction that causes great suffering

Example:

he bears his afflictions like a crown of thorns

Synonyms:

cross; crown of thorns

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

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)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Annoyed and irritable

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

ill-natured (having an irritable and unpleasant disposition)

Derivation:

crossness (a disposition to be ill-tempered)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Example:

transverse colon

Synonyms:

cross; thwartwise; transversal; transverse

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

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

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Breed animals or plants using parents of different races and varieties

Example:

these species do not interbreed

Synonyms:

cross; crossbreed; hybridise; hybridize; interbreed

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Trace a line through or across

Example:

cross your 't'

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

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 3

Meaning:

Travel across or pass over

Example:

The caravan covered almost 100 miles each day

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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

pass (go across or through)

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

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)

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

Derivation:

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))

crossing (traveling across)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Meet and pass

Example:

the trains crossed

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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 5

Meaning:

Fold so as to resemble a cross

Example:

she crossed her legs

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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 6

Meaning:

Meet at a point

Synonyms:

cross; intersect

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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 7

Meaning:

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

Example:

foil your opponent

Synonyms:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

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 8

Meaning:

To cover or extend over an area or time period

Example:

The novel spans three centuries

Synonyms:

cross; span; sweep; traverse

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

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

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

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

The boat was caught as it obliquely crossed the crest of a wave.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The lay-brother stood meek and silent, with his arms still crossed in front of him.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I don’t stand for that, mister, but there’s a stool pigeon or a cross somewhere, and it’s up to you to find out where it is.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I plucked up courage at once, crossed the threshold, and walked right up to the man where he stood, propped on his crutch, talking to a customer.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

But he made straight for the door, crossing the roadway to save time; and as he came, he drew a key from his pocket like one approaching home.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

That it was a sign, sir, that it was a bad hour to cross your hawse.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In other places human beings were seldom seen, and I generally subsisted on the wild animals that crossed my path.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

He thought it so beautiful that he got up and ran out, and as he crossed the threshold he lost one of his slippers.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

This may be due to the motion of the host star plowing through the interstellar medium, like the bow wave from a boat crossing a lake.

(Hubble Finds Huge System of Dusty Material Enveloping the Young Star HR 4796A, NASA)

The researchers recreated this genomic merger by crossing the two ancient peanuts species and analyzing the results in seven generations of offspring plants.

(Peanut Genome Sequenced with Unprecedent Accuracy, U.S. Department of Agriculture)