across

American  

[uh-kraws, uh-kros] / əˈkrɔs, əˈkrɒs /

preposition

1. from one side to the other of.

   a bridge across a river.

2. on or to the other side of; beyond.

   across the sea.

3. into contact with; into the presence of, usually by accident.

   to come across an old friend; to run across a first edition of Byron.

4. crosswise of or transversely to the length of something; athwart.

   coats across the bed; straddled across the boundary line.

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adverb

1. from one side to another.

2. on the other side.

   We'll soon be across.

3. crosswise; transversely.

   with arms across.

4. so as to be understood or learned.

   He couldn't get the idea across to the class.

5. into a desired or successful state.

   to put a business deal across.

adjective

1. being in a crossed or transverse position; crosswise.

   an across pattern of supporting beams.

across British  

/ əˈkrɒs /

preposition

1. from one side to the other side of

2. on or at the other side of

3. so as to transcend boundaries or barriers

   people united across borders by religion and history

   the study of linguistics across cultures

4. fully informed about; dealing with

   we are across this problem

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adverb

1. from one side to the other

2. on or to the other side

across Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing across

• come across
• cut across
• get across
• put across
• run across

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Etymology

Origin of across

First recorded in 1470–80; a- ¹ + cross

Explanation

Across describes something that's situated on the opposite side or the direction you have to go to get from one side to another. Thinking about swimming across the English Channel? It's 23.7 miles across from England to France, so you might want to take a boat instead. The phrase "across the board" means that all parts of something are affected. But it originally came from horse racing, to describe when someone bet equal amounts of money on a horse to come in first, second, or third place. The "board" was the blackboard where bookmakers chalked up the odds for each horse.

Example Sentences

Besides, he adds, if Apple were short on chips, we’d see “disruption across a much broader slice of the Mac lineup.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

By combining these three observables, the method captures a complete picture of the electric field across time, energy, and frequency.

From Science Daily • Apr. 17, 2026

Comparing the use of ChatGPT to human hours expected for a given task, the chart below shows that across every job category, current usage lags what is possible.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

We gazed across the lobby at each other and shared smiles that suggested, “Sure. Why not?”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

He opened to the reading in Jeremiah where we had left off the night before, then with sudden inspiration passed the Bible across the table to Meyer.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• crossways
• crosswise
• transversely