a puzzle in which words corresponding to numbered clues are to be found and written in to squares in the puzzle
"After spending an hour thinking about the tricky clues, she finally solved the crossword."
A word puzzle in which interlocking words are entered usually horizontally and vertically into a grid based on clues given for each word.
"Every morning, she spends twenty minutes solving the crossword by filling in the intersecting letters based on the provided clues."
In plain English: A crossword is a puzzle with a grid of empty squares where you fill in words by matching clues to fit horizontally or vertically.
"She spent her Sunday morning solving a difficult crossword in the newspaper."
Usage: A crossword is a specific type of word puzzle where answers fill an intersecting grid rather than appearing as a simple list or sequence. Use this term when referring to the structured game itself, not just any collection of words with definitions.
The term "crossword" combines "cross" and "word," but its modern meaning traces back to an 1860s puzzle format rather than just these two words joined together. Although Arthur Wynne invented the contemporary version in 1913 using the name "word-cross," the current spelling emerged shortly after as a deliberate transposition of those letters.