Reading Theme:
Across: Meaning, Examples, and Usage Guide (2 meaning)
Meaning 1：from one side to the other (across)
across
/əˈkrɔːs/
prep./adv.
from one side to the other of something
from one side to the other
➕
/frəm wʌn saɪd tə ði ˈʌðər/
prep./adv.
Indicates movement from one side or end of a surface, area, or line to the opposite side.
📘 Details & Usage
📖 Root Explanation
From Old English 'on cross' meaning 'at the cross', later evolving to indicate movement from one side to the other.
💡 Mnemonic
Imagine a cross (X) on a map: walking across means going from one end of the X to the other.
📖 Example
Be careful when walking across the busy street; always use the zebra crossing.
Be careful when walking across the busy street; always use the zebra crossing.
🔗 Collocations
walk across the street – to traverse the street on foot
travel across the country – to go from one side of the country to the other
look across the room – to direct one's gaze from one side of the room to the other
🔄 Synonyms
🚫 Antonyms
📖 Cultural Story
Derived from Latin 'crux' (cross). In medieval maps, crossing a line symbolized moving from one territory to another, leading to the modern sense of spatial traversal.
Meaning 2：throughout, all over (across)
across
/əˈkrɔːs/
prep./adv.
in every part of a place or group
throughout, all over
➕
/θruːˈaʊt, ɔːl ˈoʊvər/
prep./adv.
Used to indicate that something exists or happens in all parts of a particular area or group.
📘 Details & Usage
📖 Example
This coffee shop chain has branches across the country, so you can find one in almost every major city.
This coffee shop chain has branches across the country, so you can find one in almost every major city.
🔗 Collocations
across the world – in all parts of the world
across all departments – in every department
across the board – applying to everyone or everything
🔄 Synonyms
throughout (prep.) – in every part of
all over (prep.) – in every part of
everywhere (adv.) – in all places
🌱 Derivatives
cross-country (adj.) – across a country
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