across

preposition

1. from one side to the other of: a bridge across a river.
2. on or to the other side of; beyond: across the sea.
3. into contact with; into the presence of, usually by accident: to come across an old friend; to run across a first edition of Byron.
4. crosswise of or transversely to the length of something; athwart: coats across the bed; straddled across the boundary line.

adverb

5. from one side to another.
6. on the other side: We’ll soon be across.
7. crosswise; transversely: with arms across.
8. so as to be understood or learned: He couldn’t get the idea across to the class.
9. into a desired or successful state: to put a business deal across.

adjective

10. being in a crossed or transverse position; crosswise: an across pattern of supporting beams.

preposition

1. from one side to the other side of
2. on or at the other side of
3. so as to transcend boundaries or barrierspeople united across borders by religion and history; the study of linguistics across cultures
4. fully informed about; dealing withwe are across this problem

adverb

5. from one side to the other
6. on or to the other side

adv.

early 14c., acros, earlier a-croiz (c.1300), from Anglo-French an cros “in a crossed position,” literally “on cross” (see cross (n.)). Prepositional meaning “from one side to another” is first recorded 1590s; meaning “on the other side (as a result of crossing)” is from 1750. Phrase across the board originally is from horse-racing, in reference to a bet of the same amount of money on a horse to win, place, or show.

In addition to the idiom beginning with across

• across the board

also see:

• come across
• cut across
• get across
• put across
• run across