Cross out means to draw a line through something written, such as a word or a line of text. People do this with a mistake, an extra word or a wrong number when the text can't be erased. What's crossed out is still visible, but it no longer counts.
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cross out + word/line/mistake; cross something out; cross something off + list
- If you make a spelling mistake, just cross out the word and write it again.
- My teacher crossed out half of my first paragraph and wrote 'too long' next to it.
- I wrote the wrong date on the form, so I crossed it out neatly.
What changed
First versionI crossed out milk from the shopping list.
RevisionI crossed milk off the shopping list.
When you remove an item from a list because the task is done, the verb is cross off: crossed milk off the list. Cross out from the list is a common slip, but cross out is about correcting a mistake, not marking something as done.
Cross off means to remove something from a list as done or no longer needed: I crossed the bank off my to-do list. Cross out means to strike through a mistake: Cross out the wrong answer. If you remove writing with an eraser, that's rub out (British English) or erase.
Your turn
There's a spelling mistake in the second line of your essay: ___ the word and write it correctly above.
Show the answer
cross out — A misspelt word is crossed out and written correctly above: that's cross out. Cross off is used for items on a list that you've ticked off as done, not for words in an essay.
Describe how you check a draft of an email or essay. Say what you usually cross out and why.
When I check my essay drafts, I usually cross out repeated words because they make my writing sound boring.
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