cross·over
ˈkrȯs-ˌō-vər 
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
Jonathan Welch1
: having two pieces that cross especially one over the other
a crossover vest
2
: critical sense 2
the crossover point
crossed over; crossing over; crosses over
: 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 WebRob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 June 2024
So in this endless blur of dueling awards seasons, there is plenty of room for crossovers between Oscar and Emmy.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 14 June 2024
Justin L. MacK, The Indianapolis Star, 24 May 2020
Kingdom Hearts is a wildly popular series featuring a crossover world of Square Enix and Disney characters.
—Thuy Ong, Bloomberg.com, 19 May 2020
Christian Paz, Vox, 12 June 2024
The center of 1991’s Hurricane Bob didn’t directly cross over the state, but the storm still caused six deaths in Connecticut and economic damage.
—José Luis Martínez, Hartford Courant, 27 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for crossover 
Noun
The music business was shocked when this raw rap anthem crashed into the U.S. Top 40, with zero crossover or compromise.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 June 2024
So in this endless blur of dueling awards seasons, there is plenty of room for crossovers between Oscar and Emmy.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 14 June 2024
Adjective
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
Kingdom Hearts is a wildly popular series featuring a crossover world of Square Enix and Disney characters.
—Thuy Ong, Bloomberg.com, 19 May 2020
Verb
Significant numbers of Black voters, Latino voters and young voters — who turned out strongly for Biden during his 2020 victory — seem to be prepared to sit out the election, or even cross over to vote for Donald Trump.
—Christian Paz, Vox, 12 June 2024
The center of 1991’s Hurricane Bob didn’t directly cross over the state, but the storm still caused six deaths in Connecticut and economic damage.
—José Luis Martínez, Hartford Courant, 27 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for crossover
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'crossover.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near crossover
Cite this Entry
“Crossover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crossover. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical 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
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