take the cross

verb

To accept a sign or badge depicting the Christian cross as part of an oath or vow, especially to take part in a crusade.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbtake the cross (third-person singular simple present takes the cross, present participle taking the cross, simple past took the cross, past participle taken the cross)

present singular third person takes the cross · participle present taking the cross · past took the cross · participle past taken the cross

  1. historicalTo accept a sign or badge depicting the Christian cross as part of an oath or vow, especially to take part in a crusade.

    And in this respect he was not alone; noblemen throughout Europe were forever taking the cross and vowing loudly to set sail for the Holy Land, only to discover any number of good reasons for not actually doing so.

    2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge, published 2008, page 63
Cite this entry
APA

take the cross. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20cross

MLA

“take the cross.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20cross. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take the cross,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20cross.

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