as in sampling
a number of things selected from a group to stand for the whole
a television ratings service that monitors the viewing of a representative cross section of the general population
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Recent Examples of cross section
The teeth at the front of the dinosaur’s jaw, however, are D-shaped in cross section, with the curve of the D facing out toward the lip and a flat side facing the interior of the mouth.
—
Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2025
To get past labor shortages, its leaders have hired from a cross section of related fields rather than focusing solely on PhD physicists.
—Justin Worland, Time, 17 July 2025
Bipartisan outrage over those dreams (or nightmares) united an odd cross section of Floridians: birder watchers, hunters, native tribes, blue-collar plumbers and Republican advisers.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 13 July 2025
For several weeks, Cook and clergy members from a cross section of religions have been showing up at courtrooms in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego to stand with immigrants during their deportation hearings.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for cross section
Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 July 2025
To get past labor shortages, its leaders have hired from a cross section of related fields rather than focusing solely on PhD physicists.
—Justin Worland, Time, 17 July 2025
Bipartisan outrage over those dreams (or nightmares) united an odd cross section of Floridians: birder watchers, hunters, native tribes, blue-collar plumbers and Republican advisers.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 13 July 2025
For several weeks, Cook and clergy members from a cross section of religions have been showing up at courtrooms in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego to stand with immigrants during their deportation hearings.
—Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for cross section
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cross section
Noun
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Here’s a sampling of new offerings for 2025-26 and menu highlights.—
Linda Zavoral,
Mercury News,
23 Sep. 2025
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What people are saying about Rapture day A quick glance through TikTok, which has been fueling much of the discussion (under the algorithm friendly hashtag #rapturetok), shows a sampling of reactions, from sincere to satirical.—
Adam Carlson,
PEOPLE,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Allianz Life survey reached a nationally representative sample of 1,005 adults.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
27 Sep. 2025
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Esteller and the research team took samples from Branyas’ blood, saliva, urine and stool before examining her genome and comparing it with those belonging to 75 other Iberian women.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cross section.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cross%20section. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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