cross-

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.

cross-

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

   e.g. crossbody, crossbuck, cross-stitch

   

   Crossbuck sign at the intersection of Redrock Randsburg Road and the Union Pacific Railroad in California

   Synonym: stauro- Synonym: xipho-

2. Perpendicular in angle; transverse.

   e.g. crossbedding, crossband, crossmember

   

   A juvenile American alligator with crossbands.

   Synonym: ortho-. See visuals for difference between crossband and crossbuck.

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

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

   Synonym: dia-.

   1. (metaphorical) Moving from one track or state to another.

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

      Synonym: inter-

   2. On the opposite side of.

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

      Synonym: contra-, Synonym: para-

4. Moving or acting against, opposing, contrary.

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

   Synonym: ana-, Synonym: counter-

5. Located in between. Often, but not necessarily, forming an H-shaped structure.

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

   Synonym: inter-

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

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

   Synonym: multi-, Synonym: pluri-

   1. Involving two or more at the same time; coincident.

      e.g. crossbreak, crosspost, crosscurrent

      Synonym: synchro-

      • 1967 May, William F. Nolan, George Clayton Johnson, Logan's Run, Bantam, published 1976, →ISBN, page 14:

        The room was a cross-mixture of voices.
        "Come in Kelly 4. […] "
        "Come in Stanhope. […] "
        "Evans 9. Confirm. […] "

   2. Comparing two sources of information, often to verify their contents.

      e.g. crossdate, crossvalidated, crosscovariance

      Synonym: co-

   3. To combine two entities to create a hybrid.

      e.g. crossbreed, cross-pollinate, crosslinear

      Synonym: zygo-

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

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

   Synonym: ambi-

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

   e.g. crossregulation, crossfeed, crossprotection

   To crossfeed as to supply one fuel tank of an aircraft with fuel from another. To crossregulate is when one metabolic pathway is regulated by the enzymes in another pathway. These are one-way influences, whereas the previous sense of mutuality has symmetric two-way influences; e.g. crossrepression is mutual repression of interacting systems.

   Synonym: trans-

9. Alternate, different.

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

   Synonym: allo-, Synonym: alter-

• (mutual): inter-, x- (abbreviation)

• “cross-”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.