crossover

1 of 3

noun

cross·​over ˈkrȯs-ˌō-vər 

1

: crossing sense 2a

2

: an instance or product of genetic crossing-over

3

: a voter registered as a member of one political party who votes in the primary of the other party

4

: a broadening of the popular appeal of an artist (such as a musician) that is often the result of a change of the artist's medium or style

also : an artist or artistic work that has achieved a crossover

5

: an instance of breaking into another category

6

: a basketball maneuver in which a player dribbles the ball quickly from one hand to the other

7

or crossover SUV : an automotive vehicle that is similar to a sport utility vehicle but built on a car chassis : cuv

What makes crossovers attractive is that most combine the look of an SUV with the more civilized driving characteristics of a car.

—Jonathan Welch

crossover

2 of 3

adjective

1

: having two pieces that cross especially one over the other

a crossover vest

2

: critical sense 2

the crossover point

cross over

3 of 3

verb

crossed over; crossing over; crosses over

intransitive verb

: to reach a broader audience by a change of medium or style

a country singer crossing over to the pop charts

Examples of crossover in a Sentence

Noun

The actor made a smooth crossover to politics.

a rock musician's crossovers into jazz and soul music

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The result is a delicious crossover between a traditional, flaky buttermilk biscuit and a light, yeasty Parker House Roll. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 17 Dec. 2024

On a crossover podcast chat with Boy Meets World costars Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong and Will Friedle of Pod Meets World, Full House stars Andrea Barber and Jodie Sweetin of How Rude, Tanneritos! —Kate Hogan, People.com, 17 Dec. 2024

Adjective

From the sticky-sweet lyrics to the colorfully choreographed music video, the song catapulted the already massively popular group to new levels of crossover American success. —Tetris Kelly, Billboard, 10 Sep. 2024

Police believe an eastbound semi was doing a U-turn through the crossover because of a closure caused by the earlier crash. —Justin L. MacK, The Indianapolis Star, 24 May 2020

Verb

After a multi-year decline that saw PENN’s stock price fall 90% peak-to-trough, the 50-day moving average crossed over the 200-day moving average several weeks ago. —Michael Khouw, CNBC, 16 Dec. 2024

Thornton, in his chair, one matchstick leg crossed over another, could not have looked more like a classic Oxford case: thoroughly adapted to his environment and useless elsewhere. —Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1914, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Adjective

1893, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1973, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing crossover

• crossover SUV

Kids Definition

crossover

noun

cross·​over

ˈkrȯ-ˌsō-vər

: an instance or product of genetic crossing-over

Medical Definition

crossover

1 of 2 noun

cross·​over ˈkrȯ-ˌsō-vər 

1

: an instance or product of genetic crossing-over

2

: a crossover interchange in an experiment

crossover

2 of 2 adjective

: involving or using interchange of the control group and the experimental group during the course of an experiment

a double-blind crossover study