Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

cross-purpose

A contrary or conflicting purpose or understanding, especially an unintentional or misconceived one.

Etymology:

  • Attested since the 1660s, originally meaning ‘contradictory intentions.’
7 Views
“

We are working at cross-purposes here, if you're trying to reduce the count and I'm trying to increase it.

Collection   Edit    

Submitted on July 07, 2010

Additional definitions for 'cross-purpose':

cross-purposeA conversational game, in which questions and answers are made so as to involve ludicrous combinations of ideas.
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the cross-purpose phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to cross-purpose

cross swordscross the floordon't cross your bridge until you arriv…cross the linecross the linecross that bridge when one gets to itcross the aislecross swordsCross that Bridge when You Come to Itcross swordscross swordscross someone's pathDot Your I's and Cross Your T'scross the aisle

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this cross-purpose phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this cross-purpose definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "cross-purpose." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/cross-purpose_11859>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    Of course it's true, I heard it straight from the ______'s mouth.
    A cat
    B horse
    C rabbit
    D hare

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ