Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔄 Across-flowing 💨 Sideways flow
crossflow

crossflow

6.7
A movement of fluid across the main direction, also a machine or system that uses this movement
  • noun
  • /ˈkrɔsˌfloʊ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : flujo cruzado
  • The engineer designed the ventilation system to optimize the crossflow of air for better efficiency.

Examples

  • To improve fuel efficiency, the car's engine utilizes a crossflow arrangement for its cooling system.

  • The crossflow in the river made it difficult for the boat to navigate straight downstream.

  • Lincoln steers away from the barge, but a crossflow drags them back.

    Fiction book (2001)

Synonyms

crosscurrent
vscrossflow
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A flow of water that moves across another flow and makes rough water

is broader, applying to any fluid or gas flow and to devices using it

Surface Forms

crossflow singular
crossflows plural

Morphology

crossflow = cross + flow (transparent) = cross + flow

The noun is a direct compound of 'cross' + 'flow' denoting a flow that moves across the main direction; component meanings lead to the compound meaning.

Etymology

Crossflow is made from cross ('across') and flow ('to move like a liquid or air'). So, a crossflow is the actual movement of air or water that goes 'across' the main direction, or the system that makes this happen in engines, filters, or fans.