crossover

1 of 3

noun

cross·​over ˈkrȯs-ˌō-vər 

1

: crossing sense 2a

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

crossover

2 of 3

adjective

1

: having two pieces that cross especially one over the other

a crossover vest

2

: critical sense 2

the crossover point

cross over

3 of 3

verb

crossed over; crossing over; crosses over

intransitive verb

: 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

Noun

Elsewhere, Lirian Santos brings Brazilian soccer-fashion crossover from London, Papa Pincus turns Arsenal-fan obsession into running comedy, Bi Goes covers São Paulo matchday energy, and Skiper raps over highlights from Monterrey. —Maureen Kerr, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026

The partnership will include crossovers between soccer, music, culture and entertainment. —Sportico Staff, Sportico.com, 15 May 2026

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

Gary, meanwhile, is a creature of the city in slick suits and a Mercedes, a divorced former cop who now leverages his old connections for vague, lucrative work that may not ever cross over into the explicitly illicit, but that definitely involves shades of gray. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 May 2026

Club Kid, arguably the festival’s hottest title in terms of commercial potential, comes from Jordan Firstman, a comedian who built his following through viral Instagram skits during the pandemic before crossing over into features. —Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 17 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Adjective

1893, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1973, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing crossover

• crossover SUV

Rhymes for crossover

• carryover
• changeover
• cutover
• flashover
• hangover
• holdover
• layover
• leftover
• makeover
• moreover
• passover
• pullover

Kids Definition

crossover

noun

cross·​over

ˈkrȯ-ˌsō-vər

: an instance or product of genetic crossing-over

Medical 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

an open-label crossover study