{
  "id": "cross.symbol",
  "term": "cross",
  "sense": "symbol",
  "pos": "noun",
  "status": "review",
  "level": 13,
  "arena": "cross",
  "domain": "cross",
  "style": null,
  "definition": "a shape made by two lines that touch together",
  "folk_gloss": null,
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "line.geometric",
      "touch.together"
    ],
    "interaction": "the lines touch together",
    "novel_properties": [
      "intersection point",
      "cross shape"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "text": "The Christian cross in St. Peter's Basilica, constructed in the 16th century, remains a central architectural feature in Vatican City.",
      "domain": "institutions"
    },
    {
      "text": "A plus sign (+) etched in silicon at Intel's Fab 34 in Ireland marks alignment points during microchip lithography.",
      "domain": "engineering"
    },
    {
      "text": "Two laser beams intersecting at 90 degrees in a LIGO detector create an optical cross to measure gravitational waves.",
      "domain": "physics"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "id": "shape.geometric",
      "note": "is-a",
      "type": "is-a"
    }
  ],
  "used_by": [
    "collapse.failure",
    "crossed-the-line.threshold",
    "cusp.threshold",
    "gone-too-far.threshold",
    "possibility.potential",
    "recovery.interval",
    "tipping-point.irreversible",
    "transformation.phase",
    "window-exit-versus-removed-part.distinction"
  ],
  "forms": [
    "cross",
    "crossed",
    "crosses",
    "crossing"
  ],
  "closed": true,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "openrouter:openai/gpt-oss-120b",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 0.6
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-cross.symbol"
}