verb / adjective / noun / adverb
crisscross
KRISS-krawss/krˈɪskrˌɔs/
A pattern of lines or paths crossing one another.
A dog moves through a crisscross of pawprints in the snow.
Etymology
Originally “Christ’s cross,” the expression also named the sign of the cross. Its later use for checked patterns and intersections connects that cross shape with movement repeatedly crossing an area in different directions.
In context
Siamama lines seemed almost impossible to comprehend in scale. Unlike the Nazca lines of Peru, which form recognizable animal figures and geometric shapes, the Bolivian lines are overwhelmingly linear. They crisscross the landscape in every direction.
More examples
- The ribbons make a crisscross pattern across the package.
- Several hiking trails crisscross the park.
- She lays the sticks crisscross over the kindling.
Forms
crisscross · crisscrosses · crisscrossed · crisscrossing
Similar words
- grid
- A regular arrangement of crossing lines, usually at right angles.
- lattice
- An interlaced framework, rather than any pattern of crossing lines.