"cross swords" meaning in English

See cross swords in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: en-au-cross swords.ogg Forms: crosses swords [present, singular, third-person], crossing swords [participle, present], crossed swords [participle, past], crossed swords [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} cross swords (third-person singular simple present crosses swords, present participle crossing swords, simple past and past participle crossed swords)
  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cross, sword., to place or hold two swords so they cross each other. Categories (topical): Violence Translations (used other than as an idiom): mõõku ristama (Estonian), ristiä miekat (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-cross_swords-en-verb-QTftYivy Disambiguation of Violence: 17 30 27 26 Categories (other): Pages with 1 entry Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 26 7 35 32 Disambiguation of 'used other than as an idiom': 94 1 2 2
  2. To fight with someone; to duel. Categories (topical): Violence
    Sense id: en-cross_swords-en-verb-~zJMWiEd Disambiguation of Violence: 17 30 27 26
  3. (idiomatic) To quarrel or argue with someone; to have a dispute with someone. Tags: idiomatic Categories (topical): Violence Synonyms (to have a dispute with someone): lock horns Translations (idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone): de degens kruisen (Dutch), mennä sukset ristiin jonkun kanssa (Finnish), croiser le fer (French), se prendre de bec (French), die Klingen kreuzen (German), kłócić się [imperfective] (Polish), entrar en liza (Spanish), схре́щувати мечі́ (sxréščuvaty mečí) [imperfective] (Ukrainian), схрести́ти мечі́ (sxrestýty mečí) [perfective] (Ukrainian), схре́щувати списи́ (sxréščuvaty spysý) [imperfective] (Ukrainian), схрести́ти списи́ (sxrestýty spysý) [perfective] (Ukrainian)
    Sense id: en-cross_swords-en-verb-FzozIDFx Disambiguation of Violence: 17 30 27 26 Categories (other): Pages with 1 entry Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 26 7 35 32 Disambiguation of 'to have a dispute with someone': 0 0 100 0 Disambiguation of 'idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone': 16 2 79 3
  4. (idiomatic, vulgar) For males, to urinate simultaneously such that the streams intersect. Tags: idiomatic, vulgar Categories (topical): Violence Translations (idiomatic, vulgar: to urinate such that the streams intersect): kusta ristiin (Finnish), pissa í kross (Icelandic), kissa i kors (Swedish)
    Sense id: en-cross_swords-en-verb-434o~tES Disambiguation of Violence: 17 30 27 26 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Estonian translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Icelandic translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Swedish translations, Terms with Ukrainian translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 21 4 31 44 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 22 11 26 41 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 26 7 35 32 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 22 4 27 46 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 20 12 22 45 Disambiguation of Terms with Estonian translations: 19 12 27 43 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 19 12 27 43 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 19 12 24 45 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 20 9 22 49 Disambiguation of Terms with Icelandic translations: 19 12 27 43 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 20 14 26 40 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 21 8 24 47 Disambiguation of Terms with Swedish translations: 19 11 27 43 Disambiguation of Terms with Ukrainian translations: 19 12 27 43 Disambiguation of 'idiomatic, vulgar: to urinate such that the streams intersect': 13 5 5 78

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "crosses swords",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "crossing swords",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "crossed swords",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "crossed swords",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
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    }
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
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          "_dis": "26 7 35 32",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "17 30 27 26",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Violence",
          "orig": "en:Violence",
          "parents": [
            "Human behaviour",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
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          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cross, sword., to place or hold two swords so they cross each other."
      ],
      "id": "en-cross_swords-en-verb-QTftYivy",
      "links": [
        [
          "cross",
          "cross#English"
        ],
        [
          "sword",
          "sword#English"
        ],
        [
          "place",
          "place"
        ],
        [
          "hold",
          "hold"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "94 1 2 2",
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "sense": "used other than as an idiom",
          "word": "mõõku ristama"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "94 1 2 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "used other than as an idiom",
          "word": "ristiä miekat"
        }
      ]
    },
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      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "17 30 27 26",
          "kind": "topical",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1966 September 24, Brian Hayles, “The Smugglers, episode 3” (15:39 from the start), in Doctor Who, season 4, episode 3, spoken by The Squire (Paul Whitsun-Jones), via BBC:",
          "text": "I do not relish crossing swords with Pike's hook.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To fight with someone; to duel."
      ],
      "id": "en-cross_swords-en-verb-~zJMWiEd",
      "links": [
        [
          "fight",
          "fight"
        ],
        [
          "duel",
          "duel"
        ]
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    },
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          "_dis": "17 30 27 26",
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      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1902, Richard Bagot, Donna Diana, published 2008, →ISBN, page 240:",
          "text": "You say that you do not see how you and I have crossed swords with the priests.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1961 February, “Letters to the Editor: Swiss railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 126:",
          "text": "I must cross swords with the author of the article on the Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland, on two points.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1974, Ira Brown Cross, “The Knights of Labor”, in A history of the labor movement in California, →ISBN, page 179:",
          "text": "Loring Pickering and George K. Fitch, the owners of these newspapers, had as early as 1870 crossed swords with the local typographical union, and had been defeated in a strike when they had attempted a reduction in wages.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Ukraine's Quest Roundtable Steering Committee, “Ukraine and Human Rights”, in Ukraine's Quest for Mature Nation Statehood - A roundtable, →ISBN, First Session, page 25:",
          "text": "Crossing swords with oligarchs is one problem. An equally tough problem is crossing swords with the straight political elites, particularly the power ministries.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To quarrel or argue with someone; to have a dispute with someone."
      ],
      "id": "en-cross_swords-en-verb-FzozIDFx",
      "links": [
        [
          "quarrel",
          "quarrel"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To quarrel or argue with someone; to have a dispute with someone."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "0 0 100 0",
          "sense": "to have a dispute with someone",
          "word": "lock horns"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "word": "de degens kruisen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "word": "mennä sukset ristiin jonkun kanssa"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "word": "croiser le fer"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "word": "se prendre de bec"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "word": "die Klingen kreuzen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "kłócić się"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "word": "entrar en liza"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "sxréščuvaty mečí",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "схре́щувати мечі́"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "sxrestýty mečí",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "схрести́ти мечі́"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "sxréščuvaty spysý",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "схре́щувати списи́"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "16 2 79 3",
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "roman": "sxrestýty spysý",
          "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "схрести́ти списи́"
        }
      ]
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          "_dis": "17 30 27 26",
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          "parents": [
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            "All topics",
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "For males, to urinate simultaneously such that the streams intersect."
      ],
      "id": "en-cross_swords-en-verb-434o~tES",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, vulgar) For males, to urinate simultaneously such that the streams intersect."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "vulgar"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "13 5 5 78",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "idiomatic, vulgar: to urinate such that the streams intersect",
          "word": "kusta ristiin"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 5 5 78",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "idiomatic, vulgar: to urinate such that the streams intersect",
          "word": "pissa í kross"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "13 5 5 78",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "idiomatic, vulgar: to urinate such that the streams intersect",
          "word": "kissa i kors"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-cross swords.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/77/En-au-cross_swords.ogg/En-au-cross_swords.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/En-au-cross_swords.ogg"
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  ],
  "word": "cross swords"
}
{
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    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
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    "Terms with German translations",
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    "Terms with Swedish translations",
    "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
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  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "crosses swords",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "crossing swords",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "crossed swords",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "crossed swords",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {
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      "expansion": "cross swords (third-person singular simple present crosses swords, present participle crossing swords, simple past and past participle crossed swords)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see cross, sword., to place or hold two swords so they cross each other."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "cross",
          "cross#English"
        ],
        [
          "sword",
          "sword#English"
        ],
        [
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          "place"
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          "hold",
          "hold"
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        {
          "ref": "1966 September 24, Brian Hayles, “The Smugglers, episode 3” (15:39 from the start), in Doctor Who, season 4, episode 3, spoken by The Squire (Paul Whitsun-Jones), via BBC:",
          "text": "I do not relish crossing swords with Pike's hook.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To fight with someone; to duel."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "fight",
          "fight"
        ],
        [
          "duel",
          "duel"
        ]
      ]
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        {
          "ref": "1902, Richard Bagot, Donna Diana, published 2008, →ISBN, page 240:",
          "text": "You say that you do not see how you and I have crossed swords with the priests.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1961 February, “Letters to the Editor: Swiss railways”, in Trains Illustrated, page 126:",
          "text": "I must cross swords with the author of the article on the Mountain Railways of the Bernese Oberland, on two points.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1974, Ira Brown Cross, “The Knights of Labor”, in A history of the labor movement in California, →ISBN, page 179:",
          "text": "Loring Pickering and George K. Fitch, the owners of these newspapers, had as early as 1870 crossed swords with the local typographical union, and had been defeated in a strike when they had attempted a reduction in wages.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Ukraine's Quest Roundtable Steering Committee, “Ukraine and Human Rights”, in Ukraine's Quest for Mature Nation Statehood - A roundtable, →ISBN, First Session, page 25:",
          "text": "Crossing swords with oligarchs is one problem. An equally tough problem is crossing swords with the straight political elites, particularly the power ministries.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To quarrel or argue with someone; to have a dispute with someone."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "quarrel",
          "quarrel"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To quarrel or argue with someone; to have a dispute with someone."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
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        "English idioms",
        "English vulgarities"
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      "glosses": [
        "For males, to urinate simultaneously such that the streams intersect."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, vulgar) For males, to urinate simultaneously such that the streams intersect."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "vulgar"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-cross swords.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/77/En-au-cross_swords.ogg/En-au-cross_swords.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/En-au-cross_swords.ogg"
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  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "to have a dispute with someone",
      "word": "lock horns"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "sense": "used other than as an idiom",
      "word": "mõõku ristama"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "used other than as an idiom",
      "word": "ristiä miekat"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "word": "de degens kruisen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "word": "mennä sukset ristiin jonkun kanssa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "word": "croiser le fer"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "word": "se prendre de bec"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "word": "die Klingen kreuzen"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "kłócić się"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "word": "entrar en liza"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "sxréščuvaty mečí",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "схре́щувати мечі́"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "sxrestýty mečí",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "схрести́ти мечі́"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "sxréščuvaty spysý",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "схре́щувати списи́"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "roman": "sxrestýty spysý",
      "sense": "idiomatic: to have a dispute with someone",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "схрести́ти списи́"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "idiomatic, vulgar: to urinate such that the streams intersect",
      "word": "kusta ristiin"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "idiomatic, vulgar: to urinate such that the streams intersect",
      "word": "pissa í kross"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "idiomatic, vulgar: to urinate such that the streams intersect",
      "word": "kissa i kors"
    }
  ],
  "word": "cross swords"
}

Download raw JSONL data for cross swords meaning in English (6.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-03-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-03-21 using wiktextract (fef8596 and 633533e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.