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cross over

B1 neutral inseparable intransitive
In simple words

To go from one side or one type of thing to a completely different one.

Literal meaning: To physically go across from one side to the other.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To physically move from one side of something to the other, especially a road, border, or boundary.

"We crossed over the river using the old stone bridge at the edge of town."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B1 idiomatic neutral

To move into a different genre, field, or audience, especially in music or entertainment.

"The country singer crossed over to pop music and became an international star."

"She crossed over and found a whole new audience who'd never heard country music before."

— Rolling Stone Magazine, referring to Taylor Swift's genre transition (2014)
Grammar: inseparable
3 B2 idiomatic neutral

(Euphemism) To die; to pass from life into death, especially in a spiritual context.

"The family gathered around her bedside as she peacefully crossed over."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Has both literal (physical movement across a boundary) and figurative uses. The figurative sense of moving between music genres or entertainment fields is very common in entertainment journalism. Also used as a euphemism for dying in religious or informal contexts.

Commonly used with

genre market boundary border audience style

Forms

Base
cross over
I/you/we/they
3rd person
crosses over
he/she/it
Past simple
crossed over
yesterday
Past participle
crossed over
have + pp
-ing form
crossing over
continuous

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Synonyms

transition move over switch transfer migrate branch out

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