Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Going or extending across a town or city: Describes something, typically a route, service, or movement, that traverses from one side of a town or city to the other, often connecting distant areas.

2. Adverb:

   • Across a town or city: Describes the action of moving or traveling from one side of a town or city to the opposite side.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • The crosstown bus is often faster than taking two different north-south buses. (The bus that goes across the city is often faster.)
  • We were stuck in heavy crosstown traffic for an hour. (We were stuck in traffic moving across the city.)

• Adverb:

  • To get to the museum, you need to go crosstown. (You need to travel across the city to reach the museum.)
  • He traveled crosstown to visit his friend. (He traveled across the city to visit his friend.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to specify the directional nature of urban transit or movement, contrasting with terms like "uptown," "downtown," or "local."
  • The new subway line provides a much-needed crosstown connection. (The new subway line provides a needed route going across the city.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cross-town: A less common hyphenated spelling variant of the adjective and adverb "crosstown." The meaning is identical.
  • The cross-town rivalry between the two schools is intense. (The rivalry between the two schools on opposite sides of the city is intense.)

Synonyms

• Transverse (adj): Lying or extending across something. (More formal/general; not specific to a city.)
• Across town (adv. phrase): The phrasal equivalent of the adverb "crosstown."

Related Phrases

• Crosstown rival/rivalry: A common phrase referring to a competitor, typically a sports team, located on the opposite side of the same city.
  • The game against our crosstown rival is always the biggest of the season.

Adjective

1. going or extending across a town or city
   • the crosstown bus
   • crosstown traffic

Adverb

1. across a town or city
   • he traveled crosstown