cross·over
ˈkrȯs-ˌō-vər 
2
: an instance or product of genetic crossing-over
3
: a voter registered as a member of one political party who votes in the primary of the other party
4
: a broadening of the popular appeal of an artist (such as a musician) that is often the result of a change of the artist's medium or style
also
: an artist or artistic work that has achieved a crossover
5
: an instance of breaking into another category
6
: a basketball maneuver in which a player dribbles the ball quickly from one hand to the other
7
or crossover SUV
: an automotive vehicle that is similar to a sport utility vehicle but built on a car chassis : cuv
What makes crossovers attractive is that most combine the look of an SUV with the more civilized driving characteristics of a car.—
Jonathan Welch
Jonathan Welch1
: having two pieces that cross especially one over the other
a crossover vest
2
: critical sense 2
the crossover point
crossed over; crossing over; crosses over
: to reach a broader audience by a change of medium or style
a country singer crossing over to the pop charts
Examples of crossover in a Sentence
Noun
The actor made a smooth crossover to politics.
a rock musician's crossovers into jazz and soul music
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Willman, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
The 4 Nations Face-Off provided the NHL with rare crossover success, but that was merely an appetizer.
—Rob Rossi, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Tetris Kelly, Billboard, 10 Sep. 2024
Police believe an eastbound semi was doing a U-turn through the crossover because of a closure caused by the earlier crash.
—Justin L. MacK, The Indianapolis Star, 24 May 2020
Laurie Woolever, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
Local news outlets reported the train had just crossed over the Williamsburg Bridge from Manhattan into Brooklyn.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crossover
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Noun
There’s not often a significant crossover audience there.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
The 4 Nations Face-Off provided the NHL with rare crossover success, but that was merely an appetizer.
—Rob Rossi, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
From the sticky-sweet lyrics to the colorfully choreographed music video, the song catapulted the already massively popular group to new levels of crossover American success.
—Tetris Kelly, Billboard, 10 Sep. 2024
Police believe an eastbound semi was doing a U-turn through the crossover because of a closure caused by the earlier crash.
—Justin L. MacK, The Indianapolis Star, 24 May 2020
Verb
Even 10 years ago, deep into our national obsession with chefs and restaurants, discussion of these stars would have been niche, given that the Michelin rating system only crossed over to North America from Europe in 2005.
—Laurie Woolever, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
Local news outlets reported the train had just crossed over the Williamsburg Bridge from Manhattan into Brooklyn.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 4 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for crossover
Cite this Entry
“Crossover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crossover. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
crossover
1 of 2 noun
cross·over
ˈkrȯ-ˌsō-vər
1
: an instance or product of genetic crossing-over
2
: a crossover interchange in an experiment
crossover
2 of 2 adjective
: involving or using interchange of the control group and the experimental group during the course of an experiment
a double-blind crossover study
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