Across vs Above - What's the difference?
across | above |
To, toward or from the far side of (something that lies between two points of interest).
On the opposite side of (something that lies between two points of interest).
(Southern US, AAVE) On the opposite side, relative to something that lies between, from (a point of interest).
* 1994 June 21, Thong P Tong <tongtp@coyote.cig.mot.comcoyote.cig.mot.com>, "Re: Battle Tech Center", message-ID <2u7lsi$79n@delphinium.cig.mot.com>, comp.sys.ibm.pc.games , Usenet [http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.ibm.pc.games/msg/28d5e0700985bbe6]:
* 1995 , (Ronald Kessler), Inside the White House , 1996 edition, ISBN 0671879197, page 243 [http://books.google.com/books?id=lJz-yIZNE2sC&pg=PA243&dq=across]:
From one side to the other within (a space being traversed).
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8
, passage=I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.}}
At or near the far end of (a space).
* 2004 , (Josephine Cox), Lovers and Liars , ISBN 0060525479, page 78 [http://books.google.com/books?id=MSZf-siTBGUC&pg=PA78&dq=across]:
Spanning.
Throughout.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April, author=Anna Lena Phillips, volume=100, issue=2, page=172
, magazine=(American Scientist)
, title= * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=
, volume=189, issue=2, page=30, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= So as to intersect or pass through or over at an angle.
* 2010 , (Alex Bledsoe), The Girls with Games of Blood , , ISBN 9780765323842, page 147 [http://books.google.com/books?id=3O878YujdCEC&pg=PA147&dq=across]:
From one side to the other.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= On the other side.
In a particular direction.
(crosswords) Horizontally.
(crosswords) A clue whose solution runs horizontally in the grid.
Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing.
In or to a higher place; higher than; on or over the upper surface; — opposed to below'' or ''beneath .
* (rfdate) Translation of (Genesis) 2:20,
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5
, passage=Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=[http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/william-e-conner-1 William E. Conner]
, title=[http://www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/2013/3/an-acoustic-arms-race An Acoustic Arms Race]
, volume=101, issue=3, page=206-7, magazine=(American Scientist)
, passage=Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.}}
Farther north than.
Rising; appearing out of reach height-wise.
Figuratively, higher than; superior to in any respect; surpassing; higher in measure, degree, volume, or pitch, etc. than; out of reach; not exposed to; not likely to be affected by; incapable of negative actions or thoughts.
* (rfdate) (Marlowe),
* (rfdate) translation of 36:13,
Higher in rank, status, or position.
In addition to; besides.
Surpassing in number or quantity; more than; as, above a hundred.
In preference to.
Too proud to stoop; averse to; disinclined; too honorable to give.
(theater) Upstage.
Beyond; on the other side.
Directly overhead; vertically on top of.
* {{quote-magazine, title=The climate of Tibet: Pole-land
, date=2013-05-11, volume=407, issue=8835, page=80
, magazine=(The Economist)
, url=http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21577341-worlds-third-largest-area-ice-about-undergo-systematic
, passage=Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.}}
Higher in the same page; earlier in the order as far as writing products go.
* (rfdate)
Into or from heaven; in the sky.
In a higher place; upstairs; farther upstream.
Higher in rank, power, or position.
(archaic) In addition.
More in number.
Above zero; above freezing.
(biology) On the upper half or the dorsal surface of an animal.
Of heaven; heavenly.
Being located higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
Heaven.
Something, especially a person's name in legal documents, that appears higher on the same page or on a preceding page.
Higher authority.
Above is often used further elliptically as a noun by omitting the noun, where it is should be clear what is omitted.
As prepositions the difference between across and above
is that across is to, toward or from the far side of (something that lies between two points of interest) while above is physically over; on top of; worn on top of, as clothing.As adverbs the difference between across and above
is that across is from one side to the other while above is directly overhead; vertically on top of.As nouns the difference between across and above
is that across is (crosswords) a clue whose solution runs horizontally in the grid while above is heaven.As an adjective above is
of heaven; heavenly.across
English
Preposition
(English prepositions)- And make sure you're parked across the mall in the outside lot. Last time I was there, I parked in a parking structure and paid an arm and a leg for it.
- On another occasion, Clinton asked to drive him to Chelsea's school, Booker Elementary, where Clinton met the department store clerk and climbed into her car.
- "I parked across the entrance and stood outside the car looking around, about 120 feet from where they were parked in a lot that was pretty well lit," Patterson recalled. "They stayed in the car for thirty to forty minutes."
- "Mam's baking and Cathleen's asleep. I've got a pile of washing bubbling in the copper, so I'd best be off." With that she was across the room and out the door.
Sneaky Silk Moths, passage=Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.}}
Chico Harlan
Japan pockets the subsidy …, passage=Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion."}}
- He parked across the end of the driveway, blocking her in.
Derived terms
* across-the-board * come across * get across * put across * put one across * run acrossAdverb
(-)Welcome to the plastisphere, passage=[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across . Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […].}}
Noun
(es)- I solved all of the acrosses , but then got stuck on 3 down.
Statistics
*above
English
Preposition
(English prepositions)- Fowl that may fly above the earth.
- Thy worth […] is actions above my gifts.
- I saw in the way a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun.
Usage notes
* (surpassing in number or quantity) Passing into the adverbial sense.Derived terms
* above all * above average * above one's bend * above the law * above the salt * over and aboveAdverb
(-)- That was said above .
- He's in a better place now, floating free as the clouds ''above .
- He appealed to the court above .
- It was a cold day at only 5 above .
- The sparrow I saw was rufous above and off-white below.
Derived terms
* "Above" is also used as the first part of a compound in the sense of before'', ''previously''; as, ''above''-cited, ''above''-described, ''above''-mentioned, ''above''-named, ''above''-said, ''above''-specified, ''above''-written, ''above -given.Adjective
(-)Usage notes
* Above is often used elliptically as an adjective by omitting the word said'', ''mentioned'', ''quoted , or the like: ** the above (-said) observations ** the above (-cited) reference ** the above (-quoted) articlesNoun
(-)Usage notes
- See the above .