What does crosscheck mean?
A crosscheck is a verification procedure in which information is confirmed by comparing it against an independent source rather than relying on a single reference point. It functions both as a noun — the act or instance of such verification — and as a verb meaning to perform it. The word is at home wherever accuracy matters: journalists crosscheck quotes and statistics, auditors crosscheck invoices against ledgers, scientists crosscheck measurements against earlier studies, and translators crosscheck terminology across dictionaries. Its connotation is carefulness and rigor; to say that a finding survived a crosscheck implies confidence that it is not merely plausible but independently corroborated. In everyday usage it often appears alongside related terms like verify, validate, and double-check, though it carries a distinctive emphasis on triangulation between sources. In ice hockey a related form, cross-checking, names an infraction in which a player checks an opponent while holding the stick with both hands across the body. For writers and professionals alike, crosscheck is a compact, precise way to express disciplined confirmation of facts.
An act of verifying information by consulting an independent or additional source.
"The editor ordered a crosscheck of all quoted figures before the article went to print."
Often preceded by adjectives like 'independent', 'final', or 'routine'.
To verify or confirm information by comparing it against an independent source.
"Researchers crosschecked the survey results against national census data."
Regular verb; past tense 'crosschecked'.
In ice hockey, to check an opponent using both hands on the stick held across the body — a penalized offense.
"He was sent to the penalty box for two minutes after crosschecking the winger into the boards."
Usually written hyphenated as 'cross-check' in hockey contexts.
Standard plural for the noun sense; the verb does not take a plural.
"Three separate crosschecks confirmed the original result."
The word 'check' ultimately traces back to 'shah' — the Persian word for king — because checking something originally meant confining a king in chess.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crosscheck
Crosscheck combines 'cross' (from Latin crux) with 'check', whose remarkable lineage runs back through Old French eschec to Persian shah, 'king', via the game of chess. The compound arose from the idea of crossing or intersecting lines of evidence — checking something against another source so that two independent paths confirm the same fact. It became established in twentieth-century English, particularly in aviation, journalism, and auditing, and its hockey variant, cross-checking, was formalized in the rules of ice hockey around the same period.
Related word forms
How crosscheck is actually used
Commonly used as one word in journalism and data-verification contexts; in ice hockey the standard spelling is hyphenated ('cross-check'). Neutral register — neither especially formal nor informal.
Easily confused with crosscheck
A double-check means examining something a second time yourself, while a crosscheck means verifying against a separate or independent source.