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In 1095, when Palestinian lands were held by Muslims, Pope Urban II exhorted Christians to reclaim the Holy Sepulchre and other venerated sites. Those who responded wore crosses of cloth on their breasts to identify themselves as soldiers in Christ’s army. Medieval French words for such holy wars were croisement, croiserie, croisée, and croisade, all derivatives of crois, meaning “cross.” In the 18th century, long after the crusades themselves had ceased, English borrowed both French croisade and the Spanish cruzado (likewise formed from a word meaning “cross”), blending the two to produce crusade.
Examples of crusade in a Sentence
Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026
If Yetnikoff was motivated by his Jewish identity or a sense of justice to crusade for Jackson, the books about him, including his own, don’t say so.
—Stephen Silver, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
The money was intended to fulfil a crusading mission of expanding access to health care.
—Hettie O'Brien, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, who has worked in child welfare and has crusaded for reforms at the county’s child welfare agency, said such a conviction would deem a potential foster caregiver ineligible.
—Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for crusade
Cite this Entry
“Crusade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crusade. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
crusade
1 of 2 noun
crusade
2 of 2 verbderived from early French croisade and Spanish cruzada, both meaning literally "an expedition of persons marked with or bearing the sign of the cross" and both derived from Latin cruc-, crux "cross" — related to cross
