cross-legged

adverb or adjective

ˈkrȯs-ˌle-gəd 

-ˌlā-;

-ˌlegd 

-ˌlāgd

1

: with legs crossed and knees spread wide apart

2

: with one leg placed over and across the other

Examples of cross-legged in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The actress wears a toasty-looking fur hat and sits cross-legged on the floor, the Canadian road traffic muffling her voice slightly. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026

Reporters from competing outlets sit shoulder-to-shoulder on a handful of benches while others sit cross-legged on the floor, each of them bracing for the next time they will be allowed back inside. — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026

His painting of The Last Supper (1986) shows a group of villagers sitting cross-legged on a rug, surrounding a round table and sharing food from a round tray. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 26 Aug. 2026

Another test, popularized on social media, asks someone to move from standing, to sitting cross-legged on the ground, and then back up to standing. — ABC News, 22 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cross-legged

• legged

Kids Definition

cross-legged

adverb

ˈkrȯ-ˈsleg(-ə)d

: with the legs crossed and the knees spread wide