Meanings
verbcross the floor (third-person singular simple present crosses the floor, present participle crossing the floor, simple past and past participle crossed the floor)
present singular third person crosses the floor · participle present crossing the floor · participle past crossed the floor · past crossed the floor
- UKgovernmentTo vote against one’s own political party in parliament.
- UKinformalgovernmentTo resign from one’s political party and join another party, resulting in moving from one’s currently assigned desk or seat in the legislative chamber to a new desk or seat physically located with the other members of one’s new party.
Two weeks ago, Mr Davies intimated to Mr Brown that he was ready to cross the floor.
2007 June 27, Philip Webster, Francis Elliott, “How Brown led his latest recruit across the floor”, in Times of London, retrieved 09 Nov 2008
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Cite this entry
APA
cross the floor. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross%20the%20floor
MLA
“cross the floor.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross%20the%20floor. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cross the floor,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross%20the%20floor.
Source: cross the floor on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.