double-cross
"double-cross" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“double-cross” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To betray or go back on; to deceive someone after having gained their trust and led them to believe that they were being aided.
Corpus desk
Index EN-double-cross · double-cross · English
double-cross · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 12 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "D" 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 | double-cross |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “double-cross” in English
Rare enough to double-check
double-cross is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for double-cross in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: First recorded in 1834 from thieves' slang cross (or on the cross) to refer to something dishonest, a play on straight/square: a crook going back on his partners would therefore be crossing the crossers, or double-crossing. The correct English form is double-cross, spelled D-O-U-B-L-E---C-R-O-S-S.
Definition
- 1To betray or go back on; to deceive someone after having gained their trust and led them to believe that they were being aided.
- 2To cross twice in hybridization, as (A × B) × (C × D); for example, in commercial hybrid seed corn, A through D are classically inbreds, and their grandoffspring is the seed for sale.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how double-cross appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
If you double-cross us, we'll track you down and kill you.
Etymology
First recorded in 1834 from thieves' slang cross (or on the cross) to refer to something dishonest, a play on straight/square: a crook going back on his partners would therefore be crossing the crossers, or double-crossing.
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.