cross-dress

US/ˈkɹɔsˈdɹɛs/US/ˈkɹɒsˈdɹɛs/

verb

To wear clothes typically associated with the opposite sex.

Similar
transvest
OriginEnglish dress ← Middle English dressen →
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Meanings

verbcross-dress (third-person singular simple present cross-dresses, present participle cross-dressing, simple past and past participle cross-dressed)

present singular third person cross-dresses · participle present cross-dressing · participle past cross-dressed · past cross-dressed · alternative crossdress · alternative xdress

  1. To wear clothes typically associated with the opposite sex.

    The need to cross-dress is no more understood than the natural forms of differing sexual orientation.

    1976 December 11, Sarah Montgomery, “Plea For Tolerance”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 24, page 4
  2. immunologyTo display (on the surface of a dendritic cell) antigens produced by a different cell.

    Such DC are cross-dressed because they are wearing peptide-MHC complexes generated by other cells.

    2006 November 1, Brian P. Dolan et al., “Dendritic Cells Cross-Dressed with Peptide MHC Class I Complexes Prime CD8+ T Cells”, in Journal of Immunology, volume 177, number 9, →DOI, pages 6018–6024

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
transvest
Also see
transvest

Origin

  1. Englishcross-
  2. Middle Englishdressen
  3. Englishdress
  4. Englishcross-dress

From cross- + dress.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 扮裝 /扮装, 變裝 /变装
  • 扮裝 /扮装 (bànzhuāng)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
  • 變裝 /变装 (biànzhuāng)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
  • 異裝 /异装 (yìzhuāng)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
  • 易裝 /易装 (yìzhuāng)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
  • 反串 (fǎnchuàn)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
  • 男裝 /男装 (nánzhuāng)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
  • 女裝 /女装 (nǚzhuāng)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
Finnish pukeutua ristiin
  • pukeutua ristiinto wear clothes of the opposite sex
Irish trasghléas
  • trasghléasto wear clothes of the opposite sex
Japanese 男装する, 女装する
  • 男装する (dansō suru)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
  • 女装する (josō suru)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
Polish przebierać się w odzież płci przeciwnej, przebrać się w odzież płci przeciwnej
  • przebierać się w odzież płci przeciwnejto wear clothes of the opposite sex
  • przebrać się w odzież płci przeciwnejto wear clothes of the opposite sex
Portuguese travestir, transvestir
  • travestirto wear clothes of the opposite sex
  • transvestirto wear clothes of the opposite sex
Russian переодева́ться
  • переодева́ться (pereodevátʹsja)to wear clothes of the opposite sex
Cite this entry
APA

cross-dress. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross-dress

MLA

“cross-dress.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross-dress. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cross-dress,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cross-dress.

Source: cross-dress on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.