MEANING
1. Examining a population or group at one time or over a single observation period.
2. Relating to a section made by cutting across an object.
Use it for
population snapshots; between-group differences; limits of causal interpretationMake clear that the evidence compares units rather than following their change.
Words that belong together
- cross-sectional study
- cross-sectional survey
- cross-sectional comparison
On the page
A cross-sectional survey compared access to water across districts.
The cross-sectional association cannot show whether poor sleep preceded the reported stress.
The cross-sectional drawing reveals the thickness of the wall.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- cross-sectional
Usage notes
Primary category: academic. Research use contrasts with tracking change in the same units over time. A cross-sectional association usually cannot resolve temporal order by itself. Also spelled cross sectional. Normally non-gradable in this sense; comparison requires a specific contextual scale. Orthographic variant: cross sectional.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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