crosses across

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "crosses across" is not correct and is generally considered redundant in written English.
You can use it when describing something that moves from one side to another, but it is better to choose a more concise expression. Example: "The river crosses across the valley, creating a beautiful landscape."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

8 human-written examples

With over 100,000 higgledy-piggledy crosses across a hill, this is an imposing and sinister sight.

The Guardian - Travel

Bilbao kickl off, Llorente playing it out to the left but when they shift the ball to the right an interception sets Park off on a run up the flank and a decent ball through to Rooney who speeds past Iraola and crosses across goal but no one had made the run to meet it.

The Guardian - Sport

"We flashed 20-odd crosses across their box, but you have to put the ball in the back of the net and you have to take your chances".

BBC

Rangers should have overturned the deficit in the space of a few minutes, but Naismith missed on two occasions, both chances coming at the back post from Jelavic crosses across goal.

BBC

"I can put more water in," Hadfield says as he gives his eye a second squirt, "so if you keep crying, you've just ended up with a bigger and bigger ball of water in your eye, until eventually it crosses across your nose and gets into your other eye, or evaporates or maybe spreads over your cheek, or you grab a towel to dry it up".

Huffington Post

To investigate the pattern of imprinting status for all the transcripts covered by our study, we plotted the 5,076 unique Entrez genes with counts of four or more in both reciprocal crosses across the mouse genome (Figure 5; Figure S1.14).

Plosone

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

51 human-written examples

8.56pm: Whittaker sends a cross across the box, which everyone misses, including 23 Rangers players.

The Guardian - Sport

Khubulov drives down the right flank and flashes a cross across the face of goal.

The Guardian - Sport

38 min: Liverpool get half a chance as the ball is crossed across the City area.

The Guardian - Sport

Writer stationed himself with the Auxiliary at the pedestrtrian crossing across Sixth Ave . at Fourth Street.

The New Yorker

Altidore headed a Mix Diskerud cross across the face of goal but Morris couldn't connect at the far post.

The Guardian - Sport

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Avoid using "crosses across" in formal writing. Opt for a single, more concise verb such as "crosses" or "traverses".

Common error

Don't use "crosses across" when "crosses" alone suffices. The addition of "across" is typically unnecessary and weakens the sentence.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "crosses across" functions primarily as a verb phrase describing movement or extension from one side to another. Ludwig AI identifies it as generally incorrect due to redundancy.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Science

30%

Wiki

30%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "crosses across" is generally considered grammatically incorrect and redundant. Ludwig AI suggests that using simply "crosses" or alternatives like "traverses" and "extends across" is preferable. While it appears in some contexts, including news and media and scientific articles, its usage should be limited, especially in formal writing. The relatively low expert rating reflects its grammatical weakness and the availability of more concise alternatives.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

extends across

Focuses on the act of stretching or reaching over something.

traverses

Replaces the entire phrase with a single verb indicating movement across.

passes over

Describes movement from one side to the other.

spans

Indicates extending over a distance or area.

reaches over

Similar to extends across but with a slightly more informal tone.

intersects

Highlights the point where two things meet or cross.

goes over

More casual alternative to 'passes over'.

cuts through

Emphasizes the act of penetrating or dividing something while crossing it.

lies across

Describes something positioned over another object or area.

crisscrosses

Implies a pattern of multiple crossings.

FAQs

Is "crosses across" grammatically correct?

The phrase "crosses across" is generally considered redundant. Using just "crosses" is usually sufficient and more grammatically sound.

What can I say instead of "crosses across"?

Consider using alternatives like "traverses", "spans", or "extends across" depending on the context.

When is it acceptable to use "crosses across"?

While generally redundant, "crosses across" might be used for emphasis in informal contexts, but it's best to opt for clearer alternatives in formal writing.

What's the difference between "crosses" and "crosses across"?

The word "crosses" implies movement from one side to another. Adding "across" to "crosses" doesn't significantly alter the meaning, making it redundant. In most cases, "crosses" alone is preferred.