An x mark is a mark (x, ×, X, , , , , , etc.) used to indicate the concept of negation (for example "no, this has not been verified" or "no, I don't agree") as well as affirmation (for example in election ballot papers

Ballot

A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...

 or in x marks the spot

X marks the spot

X marks the spot may refer to:* X Marks the Spot , a 1931 film directed by Erle C. Kenton* X Marks the Spot , a 1942 film directed by George Sherman...

). It is often used opposite the tick

Tick

Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...

 or check mark (or the O mark used in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.)

It is also used as a replacement for a signature

Signature

A signature is a handwritten depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a signature is a signatory. Similar to a handwritten signature, a signature work describes the work as readily identifying...

 for a person who is illiterate and thus cannot write their name. Typically, the writing of an X used for this purpose must be witnessed to be valid.

As a verb, to ex off/out or to cross off/out means to add such a mark. It is quite common, especially on printed forms and document, for there to be squares in which to place x marks, or interchangeably checks. While it is more common in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 for people to check a square box with a cross than a tick, in some countries a tick (✓) or even a v

V

V is the twenty-second letter in the basic modern Latin alphabet.-Letter:The letter V comes from the Semitic letter Waw, as do the modern letters F, U, W, and Y. See F for details....

 mark is used.

Unicode

Unicode

Unicode

Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...

 provides various related symbols, including:

Symbol	Unicode Codepoint (Hex)	Name
	U+2717	BALLOT X (cross)
	U+2718	HEAVY BALLOT X (bold cross)
	U+2610	BALLOT BOX (square)
	U+2612	BALLOT BOX WITH X (square with cross)

The x mark is generally rendered with a less symmetrical form than the following cross-shaped mathematical symbols:

Symbol	Unicode Codepoint (Hex)	Name
	U+00D7	multiplication sign
	U+2A2F	cross product Cross product In mathematics, the cross product, vector product, or Gibbs vector product is a binary operation on two vectors in three-dimensional space. It results in a vector which is perpendicular to both of the vectors being multiplied and normal to the plane containing them...  also known as Gibbs vector product

See also

• List of international common standards
• Saltire
  Saltire
  A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....
  
  
• Tally marks
  Tally marks
  Tally marks, or hash marks, are a unary numeral system. They are a form of numeral used for counting. They allow updating written intermediate results without erasing or discarding anything written down...
  
  
• Tick (check mark)

Mathematics

• Multiplication sign
  • Cartesian product
    Cartesian product
    In mathematics, a Cartesian product is a construction to build a new set out of a number of given sets. Each member of the Cartesian product corresponds to the selection of one element each in every one of those sets...
    
    
  • Cross product
    Cross product
    In mathematics, the cross product, vector product, or Gibbs vector product is a binary operation on two vectors in three-dimensional space. It results in a vector which is perpendicular to both of the vectors being multiplied and normal to the plane containing them...