cross-purpose
cross-purpose noun: a contrary or conflicting purpose or understanding, especially an unintentional or misconceived one.
Noun
cross-purpose (plural cross-purposes)
- A contrary or conflicting purpose or understanding, especially an unintentional or misconceived one.
- We are working at cross-purposes here, if you're trying to reduce the count and I'm trying to increase it.
cross-purpose meaning in Tamil
cross-purpose in Tamil
- நோக்கமுரண்
Forms of cross-purpose
| plural | cross-purposes |
|---|---|
| alternative form | cross purpose |
Origin of cross-purpose
Attested (in the plural form) since the 1660s, originally meaning ‘contradictory intentions.’
Words formed from cross-purpose
Questions about cross-purpose
- What does cross-purpose mean?
- Cross-purpose means a contrary or conflicting purpose or understanding, especially an unintentional or misconceived one.
- What is cross-purpose in Tamil?
- Cross-purpose in Tamil is நோக்கமுரண். See Cross-purpose meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is cross-purpose?
- Cross-purpose is a noun.
- What is the plural of cross-purpose?
- The plural of cross-purpose is cross-purposes.
Words near cross-purpose in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cross-purpose (page history and authors); cross-purpose (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-cross-purpose.ogg.
Cite this entry: “cross-purpose.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cross-purpose. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.