cross-fertilization
noun
cross-fer·til·i·za·tion
ˈkrȯs-ˌfər-tə-lə-ˈzā-shən 
1
a
: fertilization in which the gametes are produced by separate individuals or sometimes by individuals of different kinds
2
: interchange or interaction (as between different ideas, cultures, or categories) especially of a broadening or productive nature
Examples of cross-fertilization in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One of the literary cross-fertilizations involves artists’ cards, which feature in the novel Bolt from the Blue (2021), composed in the form of correspondence by letter, postcard and email between a single mother in Birmingham and her artist daughter in London.
—
Literary Hub, 12 Feb. 2026
In the public debate, there are those who speak only about such cultural cross-fertilization, and those who speak only about restitution.
—Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2025
There are arguments for Turkish, Serbo-Croatian, and Lithuanian roots, among others, suggestive of the linguistic cross-fertilizations of central and southeastern Europe.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 16 Sep. 2025
By attacking America’s friends and allies through a variety of means and pushing their best students away from study in American universities, the Trump Administration is forcing others to hedge their bets on future cooperation and cross-fertilization of ideas.
—Ian Bremmer, Time, 11 Aug. 2025
Yet today this cross-fertilization is no longer an occasional, sporadic benefit.
—Knowable Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 July 2025
Maybe as a cross-fertilization?
—H. Alan Scott, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
In other words, don’t ignore cross-fertilization.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
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Literary Hub, 12 Feb. 2026
In the public debate, there are those who speak only about such cultural cross-fertilization, and those who speak only about restitution.
—Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 21 Dec. 2025
There are arguments for Turkish, Serbo-Croatian, and Lithuanian roots, among others, suggestive of the linguistic cross-fertilizations of central and southeastern Europe.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 16 Sep. 2025
By attacking America’s friends and allies through a variety of means and pushing their best students away from study in American universities, the Trump Administration is forcing others to hedge their bets on future cooperation and cross-fertilization of ideas.
—Ian Bremmer, Time, 11 Aug. 2025
Yet today this cross-fertilization is no longer an occasional, sporadic benefit.
—Knowable Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 July 2025
Maybe as a cross-fertilization?
—H. Alan Scott, Newsweek, 9 Jan. 2025
In other words, don’t ignore cross-fertilization.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Cross-fertilization.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cross-fertilization. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
cross-fertilization
noun
cross-fer·til·iza·tion
variants
or British cross-fertilisation
: fertilization in which the gametes are produced by separate individuals or sometimes by individuals of different kinds
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