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Meaning of across in English:

across

Pronunciation /əˈkrɒs/

See synonyms for across

Translate across into Spanish

preposition

  • 1From one side to the other of (a place, area, etc.)

    ‘I ran across the street’
    • ‘she is travelling across the US on a promotional tour’
    • ‘To travel across to the other side of the world with a woman I love, to meet up with a man I love?’
    • ‘With easterly winds often travelling across the industrial areas of Europe, the visibility can be quite poor.’
    • ‘The boy shrugged and walked across it to the side with the handle.’
    • ‘Like a little boy being led across a busy street by his mother, we will guide you.’
    • ‘Two young boys were playing football indiscriminately across the area with a plastic bottle.’
    • ‘Eight minutes later, he hit a neat pass across the penalty area before Todorov slipped the ball past Friedel.’
    • ‘She didn't even try to swim, but the waves of the lake carried her across to the other side.’
    • ‘Leading me back across the hall he turns to roar approval as his PR man taps some panelling to prove that it is not real marble.’
    • ‘American troops spread out across the area yesterday to investigate what had happened and question witnesses.’
    • ‘Ramblers celebrated the launch of new right to roam laws by taking a stroll across former no-go areas all over the north west.’
    • ‘So as not to spoil it I've hidden the text as white though, so if you want to see it you need to drag your mouse across the blank looking area below.’
    • ‘Police believe that as she was driving out of the forecourt, she failed to negotiate the bend and drove across the grass area.’
    • ‘His shot across the penalty area after good work by Neal Ardley lacked the power to trouble Paddy Kenny.’
    • ‘When he returned an intelligent ball back across the six-yard area, Thompson slid in to bundle it over the line.’
    • ‘The two got together, and when Jim returned to the Bolton area, Maureen moved across the Pennines to join him.’
    • ‘Then in injury time, Miller's searching header back across a crowded area wreaked momentary havoc.’
    • ‘A conventional bomb could then be used to spread radioactive particles across a densely populated area.’
    • ‘Pieces of the aircraft were strewn across a vast area.’
    • ‘A lot of glass flew across the classroom and some of the children were quite alarmed.’
    • ‘Unfortunately, when we reached half way across the bridge a middle-aged man was speeding up behind us.’
    to the other side of, from one side of … to the other, over, throughout the expanse of, throughout the width of, covering, everywhere on, on all parts of
    View synonyms

  • 2Expressing position or orientation in relation to (an area or passage)

    ‘they lived across the street from one another’
    • ‘the bridge across the river’
    • ‘The main attraction is the Storms River and the suspension bridge that stretches across its mouth.’
    • ‘He said the Flower Bridge should be built across a narrow stretch of water that was not so busy with river traffic.’
    • ‘I am not a celeb but as luck would have it, I have friends living across a wide geographical stretch.’
    • ‘To the east the magnificent new bridge stretches across the Oresund Sea to Malmo in Sweden.’
    • ‘A new pedestrian bridge across the Cross river has just been completed by Mayo County Council.’
    • ‘People living across the river from the camp had complained of being kept awake by noise from generators.’
    • ‘In this way it hopes to boost living standards across a broad swathe of poor rural society.’
    • ‘He had a gold earring in his right ear, and a tiny scar across the bridge of his nose.’
    • ‘In many ways the local authority has its hands tied and is in the same unenviable position as councils across the country.’
    • ‘Out of the corner of my eye I can see CCTV's main camera lock on to my position from across the road.’
    • ‘He could feel Tyna lift her head up from her awkward position across her shoulder.’
    • ‘This led to flooding across many areas of agricultural land, leaving potato crops in ruin.’
    • ‘Scot runs an athletics club whose members train on the school's playing field for junior school pupils from across the area.’
    • ‘Dozens more were at risk of collapsing as heavy rains continued across the area, authorities said.’
    • ‘Mr Howard has effectively written off the party's chances of winning seats in urban areas across the north of England.’
    • ‘For more than 20 years the estate - and many like it across the area - was neglected.’
    • ‘Business, community groups and individuals across the area took part in last month's Macmillan event.’
    • ‘Attacks on buses are being logged, and police are involved in operations across the area aimed at clamping down on the thugs.’
    • ‘Figures released this week provide an average house price across all of this area of £98,000.’
    • ‘It justifies a larger space and needs some benevolent soul to offer a venue and find the time to liaise with art teachers across the area.’
    on the other side of, over, beyond, past
    View synonyms

adverb

  • 1From one side to the other of a place, area, etc.

    • ‘he had swum across’
    to the other side of, from one side of … to the other, over, throughout the expanse of, throughout the width of, covering, everywhere on, on all parts of
    View synonyms
    1. 1.1Used with an expression of measurement.
      • ‘a crater some 30 metres across’

  • 2Used to express position or orientation.

    ‘he looked across at me’
    • ‘halfway across, Jenny jumped’
    on the other side of, over, beyond, past
    View synonyms

  • 3Referring to a crossword answer which reads horizontally.

    • ‘19 across’

Phrases

    across from

    • Opposite.

      ‘she sat across from me’
      • ‘The outlet is based at Friary Road in Naas just across from the motor tax office.’
      • ‘The site is located down a laneway beside the canal across from the Hazel hotel.’
      • ‘Matt watches her from across the way, since her window is exactly across from his.’
      • ‘She scolded the man across from her who refused to give up his seat to a lady.’
      • ‘So he sits down across from me in one of the chairs they have set up in the the waiting area patio.’
      • ‘However, that morning a young boy with extremely dark skin was sitting across from us.’
      • ‘For the past couple of months, I've been following the vicissitudes of a guy living across from me.’
      • ‘Then he leaned forward with a wide smile and slapped a high-five on the hand of someone sitting across from him.’
      • ‘It has been five and a half years now since they last sat across from each other at a table.’
      • ‘In the hospital, after school, he sat on one side of the bed, across from his mother.’
      • ‘She sat down across from me at the one available picnic table in the cobbled courtyard outside our building.’
      • ‘There was a pitch and putt course across from my house and we all played.’
      • ‘One of the men across from us reminds me of a fish, his lips and something slimy they do when he looks at me.’
      • ‘John spots Susan sitting across from him at an insider LA eatery and makes his way over to her table.’
      • ‘One of the amazing things was there were three unoccupied seats just across from me.’
      • ‘We live right across from the desert in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains.’
      • ‘The man across from me thinks I'm smiling at him so he smiles at me smiling, and I smile even more.’
      • ‘If you can get a good spot just across from the exit to the emergency room, you're set.’
      • ‘Just across from the entrance to the grounds the grass is being cut on the public space.’
      • ‘She didn't seem to have noticed the man standing on the traffic island directly across from her.’
    across the board

    • 1Applying to all.

      ‘the cutbacks might be across the board’
      • ‘This applies right across the board, as people are keen to find out news from home or find out information on an area.’
      • ‘The problem here is coordination, and it's coordination across the board.’
      • ‘The side dishes and appetizers were okay, but uneven across the board.’
      • ‘It allows schools to build a centre of excellence, and use that specialist excellence and ethos to raise standards across the board.’
      • ‘A low-fat diet and exercise, however, produced strong results across the board.’
      • ‘So it's something that needs to be looked at right across the board.’
      • ‘It's a pretty simple concept, and apparently it applies across the board, no exceptions.’
      • ‘Mr Henderson said the money was not earmarked for either secondary or primary education but was general funding across the board.’
      • ‘He said it was most likely that the eventual pay deal will result in increases of around 3.44 per cent across the board.’
      • ‘And better childcare for women could increase the female participation in the workforce across the board.’
      • ‘That is, if tariffs were applied, then they were applied across the board.’
      • ‘When asked where exactly the cuts would be made, Mr Collins said the savings would have to come from across the board.’
      • ‘So greater regulation and enforcement of industrial laws are needed, but they must apply across the board.’
      • ‘Values such as scientific rationalism and secularism are today on the retreat in all areas of life, and across the board in education.’
      • ‘The plan commits the council to tackle the way it operates across the board - from the way it is structured to how it delivers services.’
      • ‘The first wave of fresh buying often goes into tracker funds, which invest in shares across the board, irrespective of the sector.’
      • ‘This is a public policy decision which has to be applied across the board.’
      • ‘Apply this principle across the board to other areas of life and you lose more than you gain.’
      • ‘We've heard nothing but praise for this film so far, but strangely it gets three stars across the board from the broadsheet reviewers.’
      • ‘Beyond any purely national relevance, many of his points apply right across the board.’

    • 2US (in horse racing) denoting a bet in which equal amounts are staked on the same horse to win, place, or show in a race.

      • ‘The BBC, sensing a winner, cashed in all their espionage chips, and placed bets across the board.’

Origin

Middle English (as an adverb meaning ‘in the form of a cross’): from Old French a croix, en croix ‘in or on a cross’, later regarded as being from a-+ cross.