crosshair

noun

cross·​hair ˈkrȯs-ˌher 

: a fine wire or thread in the focus of the eyepiece of an optical instrument used as a reference line in the field or for marking the instrumental axis

—used figuratively to describe someone or something being targeted as if through an aiming device having crosshairs

… in the crosshairs this political season

—J. H. Alter

Examples of crosshair in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Another ongoing dispute has brought Freedman himself briefly into the crosshairs. —Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 June 2024

But even faster refresh rates could help with the apparent sharpness of extremely fast objects on Ultra HD displays—think of a mouse pointer or video game crosshair that can move across the roughly 4,000 horizontal pixels on a 4K display in a single second. —Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 20 May 2024

Sell now, says strategist How the Property Brothers broke into flipping houses Chase to share customer data with advertisers Nvidia stock has all-time closing high in its crosshairs Will SpaceX spinoff Starlink for a big IPO this year? —Quartz, 5 June 2024

What threats lie ahead for countries at the crosshairs of competition, and how might their responses spark long-lasting global transformation? —Foreign Affairs, 14 Sep. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1884, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cross hair

noun

: one of the very thin wires or threads in the eyepiece of an optical instrument (as a microscope) used as a reference line