double-cross

UK: /ˌdʌb^əlˈkrɒs/

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

ˈdou•ble-ˈcross,  v. [~ + object]

1. Informal Terms to betray, cheat, or deceive.

dou•ble--cross•er, n. [countable]

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

double-cross verb

1. (transitive) to cheat or betray

noun

1. the act or an instance of double-crossing; betrayal

ˈdouble-ˈcrosser noun

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

dou′ble cross′, 

1. a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.
2. an attempt to win a contest that one has agreed beforehand to lose. Cf. cross (def. 21).
3. Genetics a cross in which both parents are first-generation hybrids from single crosses, thus involving four inbred lines.
• 1825–35

dou•ble-cross  (dub′əl krôs′, -kros′), v.t. [Informal.]

1. Informal Terms to prove treacherous to;
   betray or swindle, as by a double cross.

• 1900–05

dou′ble-cross′er, n.