cute

[ kyoot ]

adjective

, cut·er, cut·est.

1. attractive, especially in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty:

   a cute child; a cute little apartment.

2. appealing and delightful; charming:

   What a cute toy!

3. affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious:

   The child has acquired some intolerably cute mannerisms.

4. mentally keen; clever; shrewd.

noun

1. the cutes, Informal. self-consciously cute mannerisms or appeal; affected coyness:

   The young actress has a bad case of the cutes.

cute

/ kjuːt /

adjective

1. appealing or attractive, esp in a pretty way
2. informal.
   sexually attractive
3. informal.
   affecting cleverness or prettiness
4. clever; shrewd

Derived Forms

• ˈcuteness, noun
• ˈcutely, adverb

Other Words From

• cute·ly adverb
• cute·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cute¹

First recorded in 1615–25; aphetic variant of acute

Word History and Origins

Origin of cute¹

C18 (in the sense: clever): shortened from acute

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. meet cute, Informal.
   1. (of a romantic couple) to meet for the first time in a charming or amusing way:

      In this type of movie the boy and girl always meet cute.

   2. Also meet-cute. a situation or occasion when potential romantic partners meet for the first time in a charming or amusing way:

      a classic Hollywood meet cute; his meet-cute with Jane in the bookstore.

Example Sentences

“He’s been applying his bronzing cream to his face. Cute couple. Look out, Melania, Trump’s got a new squeeze named Elonia Musk.”

From Los Angeles Times

When Paul called his opponent's comments "cute", Tyson was either not listening or chose to ignore him.

From BBC

Sharon Palmer laughs as she tells this story, which seems, at first, like your standard cute anecdote, tossed off to humanize a famous daughter — an example of how stubborn kids can be in the pursuit of their desires, proof that years before she became a child star, Keke knew how to get what she wanted.

From Los Angeles Times

This plan was grounded in research which shows that watching cute animals may reduce anxiety.

From Salon

"This plan was grounded in research which shows that watching cute animals may reduce anxiety. "

From Salon

Related Words

• adorable
• beautiful
• charming
• delightful
• pleasant
• pretty