Meaning & use
cross out
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Meanings
verbphrasal verb
To draw a line through written words or figures to show that they are wrong or no longer wanted.
Grammar: Takes an object, which can go before or after out: cross out the word or cross the word out.
Patterns
- cross something out
- cross out something
She crossed out the wrong answer and wrote the right one.
Cross out any name you have already called.
He crossed his old address out and wrote the new one.
verbphrasal verb
To mark off an item on a list as done or no longer needed.
Grammar: Same pattern as the first sense; it implies a completed or removed item.
Patterns
- cross something off
- cross something out
I crossed out each errand as I finished it.
Cross out the dates when you are busy.
They crossed out the guests who couldn't come.
Word forms
| third person singular | crosses out |
|---|---|
| past tense | crossed out |
| past participle | crossed out |
| -ing form | crossing out |
Common combinations
- cross out a mistake
- Cross out a mistake with a single line.
- cross out a word
- Cross out the word and rewrite it above.
- cross out a name
- He crossed out a name on the guest list.
- neatly cross out
- Neatly cross out any errors in your notebook.
- cross out the wrong answer
- Cross out the wrong answer and circle the correct one.
Synonyms and how they differ
- strike out
- Strike out is very similar but often used for deleting text in a formal document.
- delete
- Delete is general and fits computers, whereas cross out means drawing a line by hand.
- cross off
- Cross off is used mainly for crossing an item from a list, while cross out is used for any text.
- scratch out
- Scratch out suggests a rough, hasty strike, often hard to read afterward.
Opposites
Word family
- crossing-out noun
- A word or mark that has been crossed out.
- cross verb
- To mark with a line or to go across.
- crossed-out adjective
- Having a line drawn through it.
Commonly confused: cross out or cross off?
cross out vs cross off
Cross off is used for removing an item from a list, though the two are often interchangeable.
Practice
The teacher told us to ___ any mistakes with one neat line.
Choose one answer.
Cross out means to draw a line through writing. The others are not phrasal verbs with this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cross out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.