Definition

1. Adverb:

   • Across the countryside; not keeping to main roads or tracks: Moving or traveling through fields, open land, or natural terrain rather than on established roads or paths.
   • From one side of a country to the other: Extending or traveling across a nation.

2. Adjective (attributive):

   • Taking place or moving across open country, not on roads or tracks: Used to describe races, running, skiing, or travel that occurs over natural, often rough, terrain.
   • Extending or occurring across a nation: Involving travel or connection between distant parts of a country.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:

  • We decided to hike cross-country to reach the lake. (We chose a direct path through the fields and woods.)
  • The new power line runs cross-country for hundreds of miles. (It stretches across the rural landscape.)

• Adjective:

  • She is the captain of the cross-country running team. (She leads the team that races over natural terrain.)
  • We took a cross-country flight from New York to Los Angeles. (We flew across the entire United States.)

Advanced Usage

• "to go cross-country": to travel directly across country, avoiding main roads.

  • When the road was blocked, we had to go cross-country.

• In a figurative sense, it can describe something that is wide-ranging or comprehensive within a country.

  • The company conducted a cross-country survey of consumer habits.

Variants and Related Words

• Cross-country skiing (n): A form of skiing where participants travel across snow-covered terrain, often on trails, using a specific technique distinct from downhill skiing.

  • They enjoy cross-country skiing in the winter park.

• Cross-country runner (n): An athlete who competes in long-distance races over natural terrain.

  • The cross-country runner trained on hills and trails.

Synonyms

• Overland: Traveling by land across country.
• Cross-terrain: Moving across varied ground (less common).
• National: When referring to something spanning the country (e.g., a cross-country tour).

Related Phrases

• Cross-country race/meet (n): A sporting event consisting of races run over natural terrain.
  • The school's cross-country meet is held in the state park.

Notes on Meaning

• The core meaning involves movement across open country or a nation, not following paved routes. It emphasizes the directness of the path and the type of terrain.
• As an adjective, it almost always precedes a noun (e.g., cross-country journey, cross-country competition).
• It is a hyphenated compound word.

Adverb

1. across the countryside
   • the river runs cross-country
   • the road runs cross-country
2. not following tracks or roads
   • they liked to race cross-country