ə-ˈkrȯs 
chiefly dialectal -ˈkrȯst
1
2
: so as to intersect or pass through at an angle
sawed across the grain of the wood
3
: so as to find or meet
Researchers have come across important new evidence.
4
a
: throughout
… obvious interest across the nation.—
Robert Goralski
Robert Goralski
b
: so as to include or take into consideration all classes or categories
1
: in a position reaching from one side to the other : crosswise
cut the potato across into thin slices
2
: to or on the opposite side
The stream was small enough to jump across.
3
: so as to be understandable, acceptable, or successful
trying to get an argument across
: being in a crossed position
stood with her arms across
Synonyms
Examples of across in a Sentence
Preposition
We took a ferry across the river.
We saw them walking across the street.
She reached across the table to shake his hand.
They traveled back and forth across the border.
Airplanes flew across the sky above us.
He was seated across the table from me.
The accident happened just across the state line.
A smile spread across her face.
Looking out across the ocean, he saw land.
The sun's light spread across the mountains.
Adverb
The streams are small enough to jump across.
They walked across to the other side of the street.
They reached across and shook each other's hand.
At its widest point, the pond measures 150 feet across.
I saw them crossing the street and I waited until they were safely across.
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Recent Examples on the WebRoxanne Roberts, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023
That protein—called a protease—has remained mostly unchanged across variants, Mina added.
—Kaitlin Sullivan, Health, 29 Sep. 2023
Smith will helm the production of unscripted lifestyle, true crime, documentary and docuseries content development in addition to NBCU’s current programming across NBC, Bravo, E!, Oxygen True Crime, SYFY, Universal Kids, USA Network and Peacock.
—Jaden Thompson, Variety, 28 Sep. 2023
Every year, the roughly 200 Renaissance fairs and festivals held across the United States and abroad attract several million visitors.
—Gillian Bagwell, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Sep. 2023
Over the past several years, as the country has accelerated the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, opposition to wind and solar has skyrocketed across the United States.
—Molly Taft, The New Republic, 28 Sep. 2023
Deion put the call in to celebrities from across the country, from rappers to ballers, to turn Colorado into an unforgettable piece of cinema for the college football stage.
—Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
The firm focused on arbitrage trading, whereby profits are realized on tiny differences in the prices of assets across different exchanges.
—WIRED, 28 Sep. 2023
Meanwhile, many across the state say they’re frustrated with the growing encampments in their cities.
—Zohreen Shah, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2023
Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2023
The specimen recovered from the meteorite was about 40 micrometers across, just the width of a human hair, but the metal could help revolutionize global production of electronics—everything from iPhones to fighter jets.
—Andrew Zaleski, Popular Mechanics, 22 Aug. 2023
The 37 boulders range in size from three feet to 22 feet across, based on Hubble photometry.
—Julia Musto, Fox News, 22 July 2023
There’s no dispute the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass is shallow enough to walk across for much of the year.
—Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, 12 Sep. 2023
Those include young star-forming regions and older star clusters as small as just 10 light-years across.
—Julia Musto, Fox News, 10 Aug. 2023
The outer display on the Flip 5 spans 3.4 inches across and has a resolution of 748 by 720 pixels, a substantial upgrade from the Flip 4's 1.9-inch, 512-by-260 screen.
—Iyaz Akhtar, PCMAG, 26 July 2023
The storm spanned nearly 350 miles across and, by noon, had reached 25 miles north of Valdosta, Georgia, heading north-northeast with winds up to 85 mph.
—Rae Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 30 Aug. 2023
These are lyrical melodies, so Beyoncé sneaks a lot of quick words into every line to get her point across, Glass says.
—Ada Tseng, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2023
Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 27 Aug. 2023
This is a hairstyle that was actually made for thinner, straight hair like Hailey’s, as the even-across cut keeps the hair from looking thinner and the straight hair looks sleek and simple.
—Sarah Boyd, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2023
In some models, the center console can be flipped back to create a jump seat between the driver and passenger, similar to a three-across bench in some full-size pickup trucks.
—Drew Dorian, Car and Driver, 20 Jan. 2023
Most wooden stools are deemed uncomfortable due to their flat seat and straight-across backrest, but this stool puts comfort first with a slight curve in the seat and backrest.
—Addie Morton, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Jan. 2023
Since the early days of the shale revolution more than a decade ago, fracking operators have relied on mined sand that’s delivered to their sites by truck - across distances as long as 100 miles.
—Dallas News, 10 July 2022
According to astronomers who captured this image, the comet's tail was several times longer at this point than Earth is across.
—Erika K. Carlson, Discover Magazine, 11 Dec. 2019
This is the kind of self-deprecation Stokes is notorious for — a defining feature, as much or more so than her slick, straight-across bangs that evoke Reality Bites-era Janeane Garofalo.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2022
The narrative quickly shatters, moving backwards and forwards across generations—spanning multiple family tragedies, all involving the fjord and the house that Signe still lives in.
—Alex Shephard, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2022
See More
Preposition
An elderly woman inched across the driveway using a walker.
—Roxanne Roberts, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2023
That protein—called a protease—has remained mostly unchanged across variants, Mina added.
—Kaitlin Sullivan, Health, 29 Sep. 2023
Smith will helm the production of unscripted lifestyle, true crime, documentary and docuseries content development in addition to NBCU’s current programming across NBC, Bravo, E!, Oxygen True Crime, SYFY, Universal Kids, USA Network and Peacock.
—Jaden Thompson, Variety, 28 Sep. 2023
Every year, the roughly 200 Renaissance fairs and festivals held across the United States and abroad attract several million visitors.
—Gillian Bagwell, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Sep. 2023
Over the past several years, as the country has accelerated the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, opposition to wind and solar has skyrocketed across the United States.
—Molly Taft, The New Republic, 28 Sep. 2023
Deion put the call in to celebrities from across the country, from rappers to ballers, to turn Colorado into an unforgettable piece of cinema for the college football stage.
—Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
The firm focused on arbitrage trading, whereby profits are realized on tiny differences in the prices of assets across different exchanges.
—WIRED, 28 Sep. 2023
Meanwhile, many across the state say they’re frustrated with the growing encampments in their cities.
—Zohreen Shah, ABC News, 28 Sep. 2023
Adverb
By adding opposite quadrants together and averaging, experts said the information shows the approximate diameter of winds that were at least hurricane force was 37.4 miles, and the diameter of the field of tropical storm force winds was about 218 miles across.
—Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2023
The specimen recovered from the meteorite was about 40 micrometers across, just the width of a human hair, but the metal could help revolutionize global production of electronics—everything from iPhones to fighter jets.
—Andrew Zaleski, Popular Mechanics, 22 Aug. 2023
The 37 boulders range in size from three feet to 22 feet across, based on Hubble photometry.
—Julia Musto, Fox News, 22 July 2023
There’s no dispute the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass is shallow enough to walk across for much of the year.
—Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, 12 Sep. 2023
Those include young star-forming regions and older star clusters as small as just 10 light-years across.
—Julia Musto, Fox News, 10 Aug. 2023
The outer display on the Flip 5 spans 3.4 inches across and has a resolution of 748 by 720 pixels, a substantial upgrade from the Flip 4's 1.9-inch, 512-by-260 screen.
—Iyaz Akhtar, PCMAG, 26 July 2023
The storm spanned nearly 350 miles across and, by noon, had reached 25 miles north of Valdosta, Georgia, heading north-northeast with winds up to 85 mph.
—Rae Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 30 Aug. 2023
These are lyrical melodies, so Beyoncé sneaks a lot of quick words into every line to get her point across, Glass says.
—Ada Tseng, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2023
Adjective
From former Housewives including Dorinda Medley and Sonja Morgan, to Shanna Moakler and Jordyn Woods, stars from across industries have dabbled on the adult-only site.
—Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 27 Aug. 2023
This is a hairstyle that was actually made for thinner, straight hair like Hailey’s, as the even-across cut keeps the hair from looking thinner and the straight hair looks sleek and simple.
—Sarah Boyd, Forbes, 28 Jan. 2023
In some models, the center console can be flipped back to create a jump seat between the driver and passenger, similar to a three-across bench in some full-size pickup trucks.
—Drew Dorian, Car and Driver, 20 Jan. 2023
Most wooden stools are deemed uncomfortable due to their flat seat and straight-across backrest, but this stool puts comfort first with a slight curve in the seat and backrest.
—Addie Morton, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Jan. 2023
Since the early days of the shale revolution more than a decade ago, fracking operators have relied on mined sand that’s delivered to their sites by truck - across distances as long as 100 miles.
—Dallas News, 10 July 2022
According to astronomers who captured this image, the comet's tail was several times longer at this point than Earth is across.
—Erika K. Carlson, Discover Magazine, 11 Dec. 2019
This is the kind of self-deprecation Stokes is notorious for — a defining feature, as much or more so than her slick, straight-across bangs that evoke Reality Bites-era Janeane Garofalo.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 9 Oct. 2022
The narrative quickly shatters, moving backwards and forwards across generations—spanning multiple family tragedies, all involving the fjord and the house that Signe still lives in.
—Alex Shephard, The Atlantic, 5 Oct. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'across.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Preposition
derivative of across entry 2
Adverb
Middle English a-croiz, a-cros "in the shape of a cross, in a crossed position, from one side to another," borrowed from Anglo-French en croiz (from en "in, on"—going back to Latin in— + croiz "cross," going back to Latin cruc-, crux) with assimilation of Anglo-French croiz to cros cross entry 1 and en to a- a- entry 1 — more at in entry 1
Adjective
derivative of across entry 2
First Known Use
Preposition
1538, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Adverb
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
circa 1576, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of across was
in the 13th century
Phrases Containing across
Dictionary Entries Near across
Cite this Entry
“Across.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/across. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
across
1 of 2 adverb1
: from one side to the other
boards sawed directly across
2
: to or on the opposite side
got across in a boat
3
: so as to be understandable or successful
get the message across
across
2 of 2 preposition1
: to or on the opposite side of
across the street
2
: so as to cross or pass at an angle
lay one stick across another
More from Merriam-Webster on across
Nglish: Translation of across for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of across for Arabic Speakers
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