Word.ws English Dictionary

crossplay

crossplay noun: the ability to record data with one device and play back the data on a different, compatible device.

crossplay: the ability to record data with one device and play back the data on a different, compatible device
Image: Pat Loika, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

crossplay (uncountable)

  1. The ability to record data with one device and play back the data on a different, compatible device.
    • The problem with the crossplay of plastic-based (Mylar) tape is that it's pliable; any difference in temperature or mechanical stress, induced by various transports, will distort track patterns recorded on the compliant tape.1993, Airborne Reconnaissance, volume 16, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers, →ISBN, page 52
  2. Subordinate communication between participants in a conversation.
    • Although in all three events the requests were performed in front of and for the benefit of the student audience as intended bystanders, the crossplay observed in the guest-student episode was absent from the guest-teacher interactions.2008, Yumiko Tateytama, Gabrielle Kasper, “Talking with a Classroom Guest”, in Eva Alcon Soler, Alicia Martinez-Flor, editors, Investigating Pragmatics in Foreign Language Learning, Teaching and...
  3. Cross-platform multiplayer functionality.

Noun (2)

crossplay (uncountable)

  1. A form of cosplay in which one dresses up as a character of the opposite sex.
    • Incidentally, I'm not sure you're bucking the trend so much as going along with it; FTM crossplay is getting pretty popular, although you see more women going for bishounen and visual-kei genderfucky stars than anything else.2001 May 22, Wednesday, “Re: 'There are only 500 REAL anime fans in the UK'”, in uk.media.animation.anime (Usenet), message-ID <-6y*A5OWo@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>
    • Crossplay is where a cosplayer employs gender reversal (i.e., a female who dresses as a male character or vice versa).2006, Theresa Winge, “Costuming the Imagination”, in Frenchy Lunning, editor, Emerging Worlds of Anime and Manga, volume 1, University of Minnesota Press, →ISBN, page 71

Verb

crossplay (third-person singular simple present crossplays, present participle crossplaying, simple past and past participle crossplayed)

  1. (intransitive) To cosplay as a character of the opposite sex.
    • [Replying to: "Really, I'll be wearing a costume as well...] Me too...but I won't be crossplaying...2001 May 6, Lauren Michelle, “Site for 2001 AnimeNorth AFSM meeting?”, in alt.fan.sailor-moon (Usenet)
  2. (transitive) To cosplay as (a character of the opposite sex).
    • BTW, one can be a touch hefty and pull off Urd. You don't even have to be a woman. A *guy* crossplayed Urd at C-Kon and won the cosplay contest!2003 October 7, Vince Lamb, “Japanese Manga and Anime Take Over America from Pacific News Service”, in rec.arts.anime.misc (Usenet)
  3. (intransitive) To roleplay as a character of the opposite sex, especially in a MUD.
    • Admittedly, BruceMud attracted more than its usual share of weenies, but as a female wizard I received even more attention for being female than I did on most other sites. Note that it wasn't exactly a secret that I was crossplaying. I seem to recall Random bitching at Julia for reporting that I...1992 May 26, Scott Goehring, “cross-gendered players”, in rec.games.mud (Usenet)

Examples of crossplay in a sentence

  • At CCI, where a large number of people cosplay, crossplay becomes a mode to "stand out."2014, Catherine Thomas, “'Love to Mess with Minds': En(gendering) Identities Through Crossplay”, in Ben Bolling, Matthew J. Smith, editors...
  • Note that it wasn't exactly a secret that I was crossplaying.1992 May 26, Scott Goehring, “cross-gendered players”, in rec.games.mud (Usenet):

Forms of crossplay

third-person singular presentcrossplays
present participlecrossplaying
past participlecrossplayed
pastcrossplayed

Origin of crossplay

From cross- + play.

[Alt: Photograph of two Star Wars cosplayers: A woman dressed as the male character Han Solo and a man dressed as the female character Princess Leia.] Blend of cross-dressing + cosplay.

Words formed from crossplay

Questions about crossplay

What does crossplay mean?
Crossplay means the ability to record data with one device and play back the data on a different, compatible device.
How do you use crossplay in a sentence?
At CCI, where a large number of people cosplay, crossplay becomes a mode to "stand out."
What part of speech is crossplay?
Crossplay can be a noun or a verb.

Words near crossplay in the dictionary

  1. crosspeaks
  2. crosspiece
  3. crosspieces
  4. crosspipe
  5. crosspipes
  6. crossplay
  7. crossplayed
  8. crossplayer
  9. crossplayers
  10. crossplaying
  11. crossplays

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: crossplay (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-crossplay.wav.

Cite this entry: “crossplay.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/crossplay. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.