Skip to learning
Practice

THE IDIOM COLLECTION LEARN & PRACTISE

Cross your mind

Understand the meaning. See it in context. Make it yours.

01 / UNDERSTAND

Meaning in plain English

To occur to you as a thought, often briefly.

02 / SEE IT IN CONTEXT

The expression in a sentence

  1. The idea of taking an evening class crossed my mind on the journey home.

03 / CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Quick idiom quiz

Try the question without looking back, then write a sentence of your own. You can retry as often as you like.

Can you recall the expression?

Which expression from this lesson matches this meaning?

To occur to you as a thought, often briefly.
Show the answer

Cross your mind — To occur to you as a thought, often briefly.

Try your own sentence (optional)

Make it yours

Write one sentence using “Cross your mind” about your own life.

Check your sentence

Does your sentence match this meaning?

To occur to you as a thought, often briefly.

Compare: The idea of taking an evening class crossed my mind on the journey home.

Check the spelling and how the expression fits the sentence. Your example can be different.

Self-review only. Your sentence is not automatically marked, saved or submitted.

This quiz is for practice. To save lesson completion on this device, complete the checks in the app.

GO DEEPER

More ways to understand and use it

When to use it

Use it conversationally when mentioning an idea you considered or saying that a possibility did not occur to you.

More examples in context

  • It never crossed her mind that the shop might close early.
  • Has it crossed your mind to ask the organiser for advice?

Usage note

The thought or idea is usually the subject: “It crossed my mind.” Use crossed, not cross, for a past event, and match my, her or your to the thinker.

A short conversation

A: Did you consider inviting the neighbours?
B: It crossed my mind, but I was not sure there was enough space.
A: We can check the room capacity first.

One more practice question

What does “It never crossed my mind” mean?

A. I considered that possibility constantly.
B. I did not think of that possibility.

Check your answer

B. The idea did not occur to the speaker.

Related lessons

Meaning and usage checked against Cambridge Dictionary. Explanations, examples and conversation are original.

Share this idiom