| 1. | a section made by a plane cutting anything transversely, esp. at right angles to the longest axis. |
| 2. | a piece so cut off. |
| 3. | a photograph, diagram, or other pictorial representation of such a section. |
| 4. | the act of cutting anything across. |
| 5. | a typical selection; a sample showing all characteristic parts, relationships, etc.: a cross section of American opinion. |
| 6. | Surveying. a vertical section of the ground surface taken at right angles to a survey line. |
| 7. | Also called nuclear cross section. Physics. a quantity expressing the effective area that a given nucleus presents as a target to a bombarding particle, giving a measure of the probability that the particle will induce a reaction. |
[kraws-sek-shuhn, kros-] 
| 1. | Also, cross-sec⋅tion⋅al. of or pertaining to a cross section. |
| 2. | to make or divide into a cross section. |
| cross section also cross-sec·tion (krôs'sěk'shən, krŏs'-) n.
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