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 WebLester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2024
On March 4, BYD launched a new version of one of its best-selling models, the Yuan Plus crossover, known as Atto 3 outside China, and slashed the price of its predecessor by 11% to 119,800 yuan ($16,644).
—Rosa De Acosta, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024
With epic trash-talking and even better basketball, last year's title game between LSU and Iowa was watched by nearly 13 million people, making Clark and Reese instant crossover celebrities.
—USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
The Atlas is a midsize crossover SUV built in the Chattanooga, TN assembly plant, and sold in North America by Volkswagen.
—Tony Leopardo, The Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2024
Louis Rees-Zammit, the wicked fast Welsh rugby star and fan favorite, has made an extraordinary crossover to American football, signing a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, the team announced Friday.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 29 Mar. 2024
While few predicted the show’s breakout success and potential crossover appeal initially, Franken was quick to process the possibilities.
—Jim Ryan, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
In Japan, there’s a lot less sort of crossover between the TV drama world and the film world.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
My crossover moment was to spend $2,000 in buying the company license.
—Angela Quach, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Justin L. MacK, The Indianapolis Star, 24 May 2020
Kingdom Hearts is a wildly popular series featuring a crossover world of Square Enix and Disney characters.
—Thuy Ong, Bloomberg.com, 19 May 2020
Its crossover success was among the watershed moments in the commercial potential of rock ’n’ roll.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2020
Cooper, an eight-time All-Defensive Team selection, had little answer for Floyd’s mix of spin moves, crossover dribbles and floaters.
—Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, 8 May 2020
Until the End of the World should have been a commercial crossover success, but instead it was cut too short to relay its intended meaning and still didn't find a wide audience.
—Eric Adams, Wired, 21 Apr. 2020
Nelson and Reilly are also credited with playing key roles in landing YouTube star KSI his first top 10 single in November, and the crossover success of classical pop singers Aled Jones and Russell Watson.
—Richard Smirke, Billboard, 18 Feb. 2020
The Great British Baking Show has become a crossover success, with American audiences falling in love with the series due to repeat airings on PBS and Netflix.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE.com, 16 Jan. 2020
Her music resonated with both New Mexico music and Tejano audiences, with crossover success in both fields, but music outlets in the broader industry did not fully grasp the extent of her successful career within New Mexico music.
—Mario J. Lucero, Quartz, 3 Jan. 2020
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Seven years ago, when the last total solar eclipse crossed over North America, a photo of Donald Trump seemingly gazing at the sun with his naked eyes set the internet ablaze.
—USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024
This year’s eclipse will have a wider path and a longer totality — up to 4.5 minutes — and will cross over more populated areas of the United States than the 2017 event.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 6 Apr. 2024
Aliyah Herron delivered the highlight of the game so far for Northfield, crossing over Kyla Hollier on the break and leaving the Rough Rider sliding on the ground, before banking in a 3.
—Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2024
On my hike, there was a rickety wooden plank to use to cross over.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2024
But, in keeping with the outlaw-country image she’s cultivated since crossing over from rock, King has taken on a somewhat more defiant tone than expected, to the extent she’s addressed it at all.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024
The structure crossed over the Patapsco River near where Key was inspired to write the lyrics for the national anthem, according to the transportation authority.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
Someone who’ll appeal to your base yet can cross over and grab other voters.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Noun
Featuring collaborations with country pioneers Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and Linda Martell, contemporary country crossover stars Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, and a host of upcoming Black country artists, Beyoncé's sprawling Cowboy Carter has been met with both praise and criticism.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2024
On March 4, BYD launched a new version of one of its best-selling models, the Yuan Plus crossover, known as Atto 3 outside China, and slashed the price of its predecessor by 11% to 119,800 yuan ($16,644).
—Rosa De Acosta, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024
With epic trash-talking and even better basketball, last year's title game between LSU and Iowa was watched by nearly 13 million people, making Clark and Reese instant crossover celebrities.
—USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
The Atlas is a midsize crossover SUV built in the Chattanooga, TN assembly plant, and sold in North America by Volkswagen.
—Tony Leopardo, The Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2024
Louis Rees-Zammit, the wicked fast Welsh rugby star and fan favorite, has made an extraordinary crossover to American football, signing a deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, the team announced Friday.
—Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 29 Mar. 2024
While few predicted the show’s breakout success and potential crossover appeal initially, Franken was quick to process the possibilities.
—Jim Ryan, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
In Japan, there’s a lot less sort of crossover between the TV drama world and the film world.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024
My crossover moment was to spend $2,000 in buying the company license.
—Angela Quach, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Adjective
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
Kingdom Hearts is a wildly popular series featuring a crossover world of Square Enix and Disney characters.
—Thuy Ong, Bloomberg.com, 19 May 2020
Its crossover success was among the watershed moments in the commercial potential of rock ’n’ roll.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2020
Cooper, an eight-time All-Defensive Team selection, had little answer for Floyd’s mix of spin moves, crossover dribbles and floaters.
—Connor Letourneau, SFChronicle.com, 8 May 2020
Until the End of the World should have been a commercial crossover success, but instead it was cut too short to relay its intended meaning and still didn't find a wide audience.
—Eric Adams, Wired, 21 Apr. 2020
Nelson and Reilly are also credited with playing key roles in landing YouTube star KSI his first top 10 single in November, and the crossover success of classical pop singers Aled Jones and Russell Watson.
—Richard Smirke, Billboard, 18 Feb. 2020
The Great British Baking Show has become a crossover success, with American audiences falling in love with the series due to repeat airings on PBS and Netflix.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE.com, 16 Jan. 2020
Her music resonated with both New Mexico music and Tejano audiences, with crossover success in both fields, but music outlets in the broader industry did not fully grasp the extent of her successful career within New Mexico music.
—Mario J. Lucero, Quartz, 3 Jan. 2020
Verb
And the path of totality for Monday’s eclipse crosses over more than twice the number of people as did the 2017 event.
—Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
Seven years ago, when the last total solar eclipse crossed over North America, a photo of Donald Trump seemingly gazing at the sun with his naked eyes set the internet ablaze.
—USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024
This year’s eclipse will have a wider path and a longer totality — up to 4.5 minutes — and will cross over more populated areas of the United States than the 2017 event.
—Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 6 Apr. 2024
Aliyah Herron delivered the highlight of the game so far for Northfield, crossing over Kyla Hollier on the break and leaving the Rough Rider sliding on the ground, before banking in a 3.
—Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2024
On my hike, there was a rickety wooden plank to use to cross over.
—Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2024
But, in keeping with the outlaw-country image she’s cultivated since crossing over from rock, King has taken on a somewhat more defiant tone than expected, to the extent she’s addressed it at all.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 10 Mar. 2024
The structure crossed over the Patapsco River near where Key was inspired to write the lyrics for the national anthem, according to the transportation authority.
—Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024
Someone who’ll appeal to your base yet can cross over and grab other voters.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crossover.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Phrases Containing crossover
Dictionary Entries Near crossover
Cite this Entry
“Crossover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crossover. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
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
a double-blind crossover study
More from Merriam-Webster on crossover
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for crossover
Nglish: Translation of crossover for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of crossover for Arabic Speakers
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