Meanings
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1
verb
to cross an area repeatedly in different directions, or to form a pattern of intersecting lines
Footpaths crisscross the hills above the village.
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2
adj
forming or marked by a pattern of crossing lines
A crisscross lattice supported the climbing roses.
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3
noun
a pattern or arrangement of intersecting lines
The map showed a crisscross of old irrigation channels.
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4
adv
in a pattern that repeatedly crosses from side to side
The cords were tied crisscross over the lid.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From earlier criss-cross, an alteration of Christ-cross. The expression referred to the cross mark formerly printed in hornbooks and used as a written sign; it later came to mean any crossing pattern or movement back and forth.