Meaning & use
cross-dresser
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person who sometimes wears clothing typically associated with another gender.
Grammar: Countable noun for a person: use a/an or a plural, as in "a cross-dresser" or "cross-dressers".
Patterns
- a cross-dresser
- be a cross-dresser
- cross-dressers in something
Her uncle is a cross-dresser who performs in a cabaret show.
The survey asked cross-dressers how open they are about their hobby at work.
He described himself as a cross-dresser, not as transgender.
nouncountable
Someone who puts on the clothes of another gender as part of a performance or comic act.
Grammar: Same countable pattern; the context (stage, show, comedy) makes the performance sense clear.
Patterns
- a cross-dresser in a play
- play a cross-dresser
In the pantomime, the lead actor appears as a cross-dresser for laughs.
The film casts him as a cross-dresser in a 1920s music hall.
Word forms
| plural | cross-dressers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a male cross-dresser
- The magazine ran a profile of a male cross-dresser in his sixties.
- an open cross-dresser
- Being an open cross-dresser cost her some friends but brought her peace.
- cross-dressers and transgender people
- The article carefully separates cross-dressers and transgender people, since the two groups are not the same.
- a cross-dresser's wardrobe
- Half the closet is a cross-dresser's wardrobe of gowns and heels.
- support for cross-dressers
- The forum offers support for cross-dressers who feel isolated.
Synonyms and how they differ
- transvestite
- An older clinical term with the same basic meaning; many people now find it dated or clinical, so cross-dresser is the safer everyday choice.
- drag queen
- A performer who dresses in exaggerated feminine clothing for entertainment; it stresses performance, while cross-dresser is broader and often private.
- gender-nonconforming person
- A wider term about not following gender expectations in general, not specifically about clothing.
Word family
- cross-dress verb
- To wear clothing usually linked to another gender.
- cross-dressing noun
- The activity or practice of wearing such clothing.
Commonly confused: cross-dresser or transgender? cross-dresser or drag queen?
cross-dresser vs transgender
A transgender person's gender identity differs from the sex assigned at birth; a cross-dresser may or may not be transgender, since the word only describes clothing.
cross-dresser vs drag queen
A drag queen performs in exaggerated costume for an audience, whereas a cross-dresser may simply dress that way in private.
Practice
Which sentence uses "cross-dresser" correctly and naturally?
Choose one answer.
"Cross-dresser" is a countable noun for a person, so "He is a cross-dresser" fits. Option A uses it as a verb, which needs "cross-dresses"; option C needs the plural "cross-dressers"; option D uses it as an adjective before "clothes", where "cross-dressing" or "cross-dresser's" would be needed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cross-dresser”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.