double-cross

1 of 2

verb

dou·​ble-cross ˌdə-bəl-ˈkrȯs How to pronounce double-cross (audio)
double-crossed; double-crossing; double-crosses
Synonyms of double-crossnext

transitive verb

: to deceive by double-dealing : betray
double-crosser noun

double-crosser

2 of 2

noun

: one that double-crosses

Synonyms of double-cross

Examples of double-cross in a Sentence

Verb she promised to share the profits but then double-crossed us
Recent Examples on the Web
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Verb
Musk warned Altman would be one of America’s ‘most hated’ men The lawsuit accuses Altman and his top lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of double-crossing Musk by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology. Barbara Ortutay, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026 Things go awry when he’s double-crossed. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 8 Apr. 2026 Wasting no time, Liridon double-crosses them in dramatic fashion, sending Shaban and Hatixhe, along with Nana and their young daughters (Aria Shala, Riga Morina, Melika Gashi), to Pristina, where Hatixhe’s married sister lives. Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026 The double-cross at Piccadilly Circus is inevitable, but the episode plays the sequence elegantly, intercutting Tara’s effort to give her minders the slip with the Park’s feckless attempt to manage a breach in the MI5 database. Scott Tobias, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2025 Wahlberg plays Parker, a blue-collar thief seeking revenge after a brutal double-cross. Okla Jones, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025 In Play Dirty, Wahlberg stars a career criminal named Parker, who’s double-crossed by a member of his team after a robbery. Eric Andersson, PEOPLE, 1 Oct. 2025 To make Jonah's deadly double-cross even more infuriating to D'Arcy, there's a real-life connection. Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025 He had been double-crossed by Guzmán López, who was also on the plane and had been arranging his surrender for some time. Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of double-cross was in 1889

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Cite this Entry

“Double-cross.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/double-cross. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

double cross

noun
: an act of betraying or cheating especially an associate
double-cross
ˌdəb-əl-ˈkrȯs
verb
double-crosser noun

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