cross-vote

verb

"cross-vote" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cross-vote” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To vote for a candidate or political party other than one's preference, in order to block the election of a candidate one would prefer not to be elected.

Key facts for cross-vote
PropertyValue
Headwordcross-vote
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cross-vote” sits in English frequency

cross-vote falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cross-vote is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To vote for a candidate or political party other than one's preference, in order to block the election of a candidate one would prefer not to be elected.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cross-vote, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From cross- + vote. The correct English form is cross-vote, spelled C-R-O-S-S---V-O-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To vote for a candidate or political party other than one's preference, in order to block the election of a candidate one would prefer not to be elected.

Etymology

From cross- + vote.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cross-vote"?
"cross-vote" is spelled C-R-O-S-S---V-O-T-E.
What does "cross-vote" mean?
As a verb, "cross-vote" means: To vote for a candidate or political party other than one's preference, in order to block the election of a candidate one would prefer not to be elected.
What is the origin of the word "cross-vote"?
From cross- + vote. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “cross-vote”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-R-O-S-S---V-O-T-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list