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Glite Dictionary
⚖️ To question closely ⚖️ A legal question
cross-question

cross-question

7.7
A question asked to a witness to show problems in their earlier answers
  • noun
  • /ˈkrɔsˌkwɛsʧən/
  • Jargon
translation icon : contrainterrogatorio
  • The lawyer asked a sharp cross-question to challenge the witness's testimony.

Examples

  • She struggled to answer the cross-question posed by the defense attorney.

  • Every cross-question was designed to highlight inconsistencies in his story.

  • The lawyer asked a tough cross-question to the witness.

  • During the trial, the judge allowed a cross-question to clarify the witness's statement.

  • The lawyer posed a tough cross-question to assess the truthfulness of the witness's earlier remarks.

  • In the courtroom, the attorney's cross-question revealed contradictions in the witness's testimony.

  • After the witness responded, the defense counsel quickly followed up with a pointed cross-question.

Surface Forms

cross-question singular
cross-questions plural

Morphology

cross-question = cross + question (semi-transparent) = cross + question

The composition 'cross' + 'question' is formally clear, but the sense is a specialized legal usage (a question in cross-examination) that may not be obvious to all learners.

Etymology

Cross-question comes from joining cross (meaning 'against' or 'from the other side') and question ('ask'). So a cross-question is a question asked in court to challenge a witness's earlier story, often to show it does not match what they said before.