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Glite Dictionary
to cross into enemy lines

to cross into enemy lines

8.4
To enter land held by the enemy during a battle
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : cruzar líneas enemigas
  • The commander ordered his troops to cross into enemy lines at dawn.

Examples

  • It was dangerous, but she successfully crossed into enemy lines undetected.

  • Don't cross into enemy lines without backup!

  • During the night operation, the squad crossed into enemy lines to gather intelligence.

  • They will cross into enemy lines at dawn.

  • The commander ordered his troops to cross into enemy lines during the night for a surprise attack.

  • It was a risky mission, but they managed to cross into enemy lines without alerting the guards.

  • Soldiers are trained to cross into enemy lines and gather crucial information for their units.

Synonyms

to pass through
vsto cross into enemy lines
  • Jargon
14 5.2

To move across an enemy line to reach the other side

enters the area controlled by the opposing side as the final location

Surface Forms

cross into enemy lines infinitive
crossed into enemy lines past
crossed into enemy lines past participle
crossing into enemy lines present participle
crosses into enemy lines third person singular

Morphology

cross + into + enemy + line

The meaning 'to enter the area controlled by the opposing side' is directly and transparently composed from 'cross' (move from one side to another) + 'into' (movement inside) + 'enemy lines' (the area/forward positions held by the enemy). This is a literal, compositional military construction that follows common verb + preposition + noun phrase patterns and is likely inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Cross into enemy lines comes from battlefields where a clear front line showed which side controlled the land. To cross that line was to move into land held by the other side, so the phrase now means 'to enter the area of the other side'.