cross-examination
"cross-examination" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cross-examination” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 17
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The interrogation or questioning of a witness by the party against whom they have been called and examined, in an attempt to prove or reveal something false or untold during direct examination.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cross-examination · cross-examination · English
cross-examination · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 17 letters
- VOW-7 7 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cross-examination |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 17 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cross-examination” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cross-examination is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for cross-examination, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From cross- + examination. The correct English form is cross-examination, spelled C-R-O-S-S---E-X-A-M-I-N-A-T-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1The interrogation or questioning of a witness by the party against whom they have been called and examined, in an attempt to prove or reveal something false or untold during direct examination.
- 2Any intense period of questioning, especially if hostile.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cross-examination appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It is impossible to bring them here for cross-examination; one simply has to conduct one's defence and argue one's case against an invisible opponent, […]
When Horsley finished his testimony, Richardson began the cross-examination, which was to last for twenty-six hours over the course of an entire week.
Etymology
From cross- + examination.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.