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PlainSpell

crossing

/ˈkɹɔsɪŋ/noun, adjective, verb

crossing is spelled C-R-O-S-S-I-N-G: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, crossing means “Cross-breeding” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of crossing is crossings.

How many letters and syllables are in crossing?

Letters8: C-R-O-S-S-I-N-G
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing21 times per million words; the 4,076th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is crossing?

Crossing appears 21 times per million words in written English, the 4,076th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce crossing?

  • UK /ˈkɹɒsɪŋ/
  • UK /ˈkɹɔːsɪŋ/
  • US /ˈkɹɔsɪŋ/

Crossing has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-crossing.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of crossing

  • crossings plural
  • xing

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does crossing mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Cross-breeding.

  2. 2

    Opposition; thwarting.

  3. 3

    An intersection where roads, lines, or tracks cross.

  4. 4

    A place at which a river, railroad, or highway may be crossed.

    Please, cross at the crossing.

  5. 5

    The act by which terrain or a road etc. is crossed.

  6. 6

    A voyage across a body of water.

  7. 7

    The volume formed by the intersection of chancel, nave and transepts in a cruciform church; often with a tower or cupola over it.

  8. 8

    Movement into a crossed position.

verb

  1. 1

    present participle and gerund of cross (a form of cross)

adjective

  1. 1

    rareExtending or lying across; in a crosswise direction.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Crossing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcarrefour, croisement (intersection where roads, lines, or tracks cross), traversée (voyage across a body of water)
GermanKreuzung (intersection where roads, lines, or tracks cross), Überfahrt (voyage across a body of water)
Portugueseencruzilhada, cruzamento, intersecção (intersection where roads, lines, or tracks cross), singradura (voyage across a body of water)
Spanishcruce, crucero, intersección (intersection where roads, lines, or tracks cross), cruce peatonal, (watercourse) vado (place at which a river, railroad, or highway…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does crossing come from?

By surface analysis, cross + -ing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after crossing