across
adjective
- being in a crossed position
preposition
- in a relative position on the other side of a boundary
adverb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L333636 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /əˈkɹɒs/ / /əˈkɹɔs/ / /əˈkɹɑs/
adv
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Old Latin en Latin in Old French en Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-der.? Proto-Italic *kruks /*krukis Latin crux Old French crois Anglo-Norman an croizbor. Middle English acros English across 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.
- From one side to the other.
“she helped the blind man across; the river is half a mile across”
“[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […].”
- On the other side.
“If we sail off at noon, when will we be across?”
- In a particular direction.
“He leaned across for a book.”
- Horizontally.
“I got stuck on 4 across.”
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Old Latin en Latin in Old French en Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-der.? Proto-Italic *kruks /*krukis Latin crux Old French crois Anglo-Norman an croizbor. Middle English acros English across 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.
- A word that runs horizontally in the completed puzzle grid or its associated clue.
“I solved all of the acrosses, but then got stuck on 3 down.”
prep
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Old Latin en Latin in Old French en Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-der.? Proto-Italic *kruks /*krukis Latin crux Old French crois Anglo-Norman an croizbor. Middle English acros English across 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.
- To, toward, or from the far side of (something that lies between two points of interest).
“We rowed across the river.”
“Fortunately, there was a bridge across the river.”
- On the opposite side of (something that lies between two points of interest).
“That store is across the street.”
- across from: on the opposite side, relative to something that lies between, from (a point of interest).
“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.”
“On another occasion, Clinton asked Patterson to drive him to Chelsea's school, Booker Elementary, where Clinton met the department store clerk and climbed into her car. "I parked across the entrance and stood outside the car looking around, about 120 feet from where they were parked in a lot that was pretty well lit," Patterson recalled. "[…]They stayed in the car for thirty to forty minutes."”
- From one side to the other within (a space being traversed).
“The meteor streaked across the sky.”
“He walked across the room.”
- 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.”
- Spanning.
“This poetry speaks across the centuries.”
- Throughout.
“All across the country, voters were communicating their representatives.”
“Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.”
- So as to intersect or pass through or over at an angle.
“Lay the top stick across the bottom one.”
“She had straps fastened across the conduit every six feet.”
- In possession of full, up-to-date information about; abreast of.
“Keep across all the latest news here at Channel 10.”
“As a regular news reader I thought I was across the eccentricities of the US president.”