Home UK English across

Meaning of across in English:

across

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 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.’
    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.’

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.

Pronunciation

across

/əˈkrɒs/