noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈkɹɒswɜː(ɹ)d/
kros'-werd
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:K R AO1 S W ER2 D
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A word puzzle in which interlocking words are entered usually horizontally and vertically into a grid based on clues given for each word.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Qualifier: puzzles
Topics: games
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The grid of such a puzzle.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, informal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
The words in an acrostic puzzle from which the letters are to be taken.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A crossword enigma poem.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
a puzzle in which words corresponding to numbered clues are to be found and written in to squares in the puzzle
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: crossword puzzle
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: puzzle
History
Etymology
From cross + word. Various word puzzles referred to as "crosswords" date back to the 1860s. The modern crossword puzzle was invented in 1913 by Arthur Wynne, who coined the name word-cross – crossword first appeared a few weeks later as a typographical error or deliberate transposition.
Across languages
Translations
76 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
blokkiesraaisel
— word puzzle
Albanian:
fjalëkryq
— word puzzle
Arabic:
كَلِمَات مُتَقَاطِعَة
(kalimāt mutaqāṭiʕa)
— word puzzle
Armenian:
խաչբառ
(xačʻbaṙ)
— word puzzle
Bashkir:
кроссворд
(krossvord)
— word puzzle
Belarusian:
красво́рд
(krasvórd)
— word puzzle
Bulgarian:
кръстословица
(krǎstoslovica)
— word puzzle
Catalan:
mots encreuats
— word puzzle
Cebuano:
pulongbay
— word puzzle
Chinese Mandarin:
填字遊戲 /填字游戏
(tiánzì yóuxì)
— word puzzle
Chinese Mandarin:
縱橫字謎 /纵横字谜
(zònghéng zìmí)
— word puzzle
Crimean Tatar:
krossvord
— word puzzle
Czech:
křížovka
— word puzzle
Danish:
krydsordsopgave
— word puzzle
Danish:
kryds-og-tværsopgave
— word puzzle
Dutch:
kruiswoordraadsel
— word puzzle
Dutch:
kruiswoordpuzzel
— word puzzle
Esperanto:
krucvortenigmo
— word puzzle
Esperanto:
krucvorto
— word puzzle
Faroese:
krossorðagáta
— word puzzle
Finnish:
sanaristikko
— word puzzle
Finnish:
ristisana
— word puzzle
Finnish:
ristisanatehtävä
— word puzzle
French:
mots croisés
— word puzzle
French:
grille de mots croisés
— word puzzle
Georgian:
კროსვორდი
(ḳrosvordi)
— word puzzle
German:
Kreuzworträtsel
— word puzzle
Greek:
σταυρόλεξο
(stavrólexo)
— word puzzle
Hebrew:
תשבץ
(tashbéts)
— word puzzle
Hebrew:
תשחץ
(tashkhéts)
— word puzzle
Hungarian:
keresztrejtvény
— word puzzle
Icelandic:
krossgáta
— word puzzle
Indonesian:
teka-teki silang
— word puzzle
Irish:
crosfhocal
— word puzzle
Italian:
cruciverba
— word puzzle
Italian:
parole crociate
— word puzzle
Japanese:
クロスワード
(kurosuwādo)
— word puzzle
Kazakh:
сөзжұмбақ
(sözjūmbaq)
— word puzzle
Korean:
십자말
(sipjamal)
— word puzzle
Korean:
크로스워드
(keuroseuwodeu)
— word puzzle
Lithuanian:
kryžiažodis
— word puzzle
Low German:
Krüüzwoortradels
— word puzzle
Luxembourgish:
Kräizwuerträtsel
— word puzzle
Macedonian:
крстозбор
(krstozbor)
— word puzzle
Malay:
silang kata
— word puzzle
Maltese:
tisliba
— word puzzle
Māori:
panga kupu
— word puzzle
Māori:
pangakupu
— word puzzle
Marathi:
शब्दकोडे
(śabdakoḍe)
— word puzzle
Norman:
mots crouaîsis
— word puzzle
Norwegian:
kryssord
— word puzzle
Pannonian Rusyn:
крижалька
(križalʹka)
— word puzzle
Persian:
جدول
(jadval)
— word puzzle
Polish:
krzyżówka
— word puzzle
Portuguese:
palavras cruzadas
— word puzzle
Romanian:
cuvinte încrucișate
— word puzzle
Russian:
кроссво́рд
(krossvórd)
— word puzzle
Serbo-Croatian:
крижаљка
— word puzzle
Serbo-Croatian:
križaljka
— word puzzle
Serbo-Croatian:
ukrštenica
— word puzzle
Serbo-Croatian:
krstoslovnica
— word puzzle
Slovak:
krížovka
— word puzzle
Slovene:
križanka
— word puzzle
Spanish:
crucigrama
— word puzzle
Spanish:
palabras cruzadas
— word puzzle
Swedish:
korsord
— word puzzle
Swedish:
kryss
— word puzzle
Telugu:
గళ్ళ నుడికట్టు
(gaḷḷa nuḍikaṭṭu)
— word puzzle
Telugu:
పదబంధ ప్రహేళిక
(padabandha prahēḷika)
— word puzzle
