double cross

¹

noun

1. a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.

2. an attempt to win a contest that one has agreed beforehand to lose.

3. Genetics.,  a cross in which both parents are first-generation hybrids from single crosses, thus involving four inbred lines.

double-cross

²

[duhb-uhl-kraws, -kros]

verb (used with object)

Informal.

1. to prove treacherous to; betray or swindle, as by a double cross.

double-cross

¹

verb

1. (tr) to cheat or betray

noun

1. the act or an instance of double-crossing; betrayal

double cross

²

noun

1. a technique for producing hybrid stock, esp seed for cereal crops, by crossing the hybrids between two different pairs of inbred lines

Other Word Forms

• double-crosser noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of double-cross¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Origin of double-cross²

First recorded in 1900–05

Idioms and Phrases

A deliberate betrayal; violation of a promise or obligation, as in They had planned a double cross, intending to keep all of the money for themselves. This usage broadens the term's earlier sense in sports gambling, where it alluded to the duplicity of a contestant who breaks his word after illicitly promising to lose. Both usages gave rise to the verb double-cross. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Zambada was arrested in Texas last year following an extraordinary double-cross by the sons of his former ally, the jailed co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán.

From BBC

The action picks up from that double-cross, with the impossible-to-shock Deborah stunned and angry but playing along with Ava’s gambit while her overlords are watching.

From Salon

Then it’s time to turn a doorknob, which will trigger one of the Ladder’s multiple digital screens and ask groups to pick a character to portray — my team opted for a young hotshot of a narcissist who appeared eager to double-cross.

From Los Angeles Times

In her speech, the star admitted that hosting The Traitors - in which contestants double-cross each other in the race to win a £100,000 prize - had felt "incredibly risky" when it was first pitched to her, as it required a different presentation style to her bubbly Strictly persona.

From BBC

It never entered his mind that someone might double-cross him.

From Literature