cut

[ kuht ]

verb (used with object)

, cut, cut·ting.

1. to penetrate with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument or object:

   He cut his finger.

   Synonyms: lance, slit, slash, gash

2. to divide with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument; sever; carve:

   She cut the string and opened the package.

   Synonyms: bisect, sunder, cleave

3. to detach with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument; separate from the main body; lop off:

   Cut me a slice from that loaf of bread.

4. to hew or saw down; fell:

   They were granted a permit to cut timber on that land.

5. to hollow out; excavate; dig:

   They cut a trench around his house.

6. to trim by clipping, shearing, paring, or pruning:

   I need to get my hair cut soon—it's so long now.

7. to mow; reap; harvest:

   Traditionally, grain was cut by hand with a sickle.

8. to abridge or shorten; edit by omitting a part or parts:

   I have to cut my speech to bring it under the time limit.

   Synonyms: curtail, abbreviate

9. to repeatedly inflict injury on (oneself) by deliberately cutting the skin; to self-harm with a sharp-edged object.
10. to lower, reduce, diminish, or curtail (sometimes followed by down ):

    The store promised to cut prices.

11. to dilute; make less thick:

    In ancient times, wine was often cut with water.

12. to dissolve:

    That detergent cuts grease effectively.

13. to intersect; cross:

    One line cuts another at right angles.

14. Informal. to cease; discontinue (often followed by out ):

    Cut the kidding.

    Let's cut out the pretense.

15. to stop; halt the running of, as a liquid or an engine (often followed by off ):

    The pilot cut the engines and glided in for a landing.

    Cut off the hot water.

16. to dilute or adulterate (a drug) by mixing it with other substances.
17. to grow (a tooth or teeth) through the gum:

    The baby is cutting his teeth.

18. to type, write, or draw on (a stencil) for mimeographing.
19. to make or fashion by cutting, as a statue, jewel, or garment.
20. Glassmaking. to produce a pattern (in glass) by grinding and polishing.
21. to refuse to recognize socially; shun ostentatiously:

    Her friends began to cut her as news of her misfortune spread.

22. to strike sharply, as with a whip.
23. to absent oneself from:

    We're allowed to cut three classes per semester.

24. Movies, Television.
    1. to stop (a scene or shot being filmed).
    2. to edit (a film).
25. Computers. to remove (selected text, images, etc.) from a file to store in temporary memory until pasted elsewhere. Compare copy ( def 15 ), paste ( def 13 ).
26. to wound the feelings of severely.
27. Cards.
    1. to divide (a pack of cards) at random into two or more parts, by removing cards from the top.
    2. to take (a card) from a deck.
28. to record a selection on (a vinyl record or tape); make a recording of.
29. to castrate; geld.
30. Sports. to hit (a ball) with either the hand or some instrument so as to change its course and often to cause it to spin.
31. Cricket. to strike and send off (a ball) in front of the batsman, and parallel to the wicket.
32. Slang. to be a nonplaying dealer, manager, or supervisor of (a card game, crap game, or other gambling game) in return for a percentage of the money bet or sometimes for a fee.

verb (used without object)

, cut, cut·ting.

1. to penetrate or divide something, as with a sharp-edged instrument; make an incision:

   The scissors cut well.

2. to admit of being cut:

   Butter cuts easily.

3. to repeatedly inflict self-harm by deliberately cutting the skin.
4. to pass, go, or come, especially in the most direct way (usually followed by across, through, in, etc.):

   to cut across an empty lot.

5. Movies, Television.
   1. to shift suddenly from one shot to another:

      Cut to the barroom interior.

   2. to stop the action of a scene: used as a command by a director.
6. to make a sudden or sharp turn in direction; change direction suddenly; swerve:

   We cut to the left to avoid hitting the cyclist.

7. to strike a person, animal, etc., sharply, as with a whip.
8. to wound the feelings severely:

   His criticism cut deep.

9. (of the teeth) to grow through the gums.
10. Computers. to remove selected text, images, etc., from a file for storage in temporary memory until pasted elsewhere. Compare copy ( def 17 ), paste ( def 14 ).
11. Cards. to cut the cards.
12. Informal. to leave hastily:

    to cut for the hills.

13. (of a horse) interfere ( def 5 ).
14. to separate a specific animal from a herd of cattle.

adjective

1. divided into pieces by cutting; detached by cutting:

   The vase was filled with beautiful cut flowers.

2. fashioned by cutting; having the surface shaped or ornamented by grinding, polishing, or the like:

   cut diamonds.

3. reduced by or as if by cutting: The cut prices came just in time for the holidays.

   This cheap cut whiskey tastes watery.

   The cut prices came just in time for the holidays.

4. Slang. having very sculpted muscles and little body fat:

   I assume from his cut body that he works out a lot.

5. Botany. incised; cleft.
6. castrated; gelded.
7. Slang. drunk ( def ).

noun

1. the act of cutting; a stroke or a blow, as with a knife, whip, etc.
2. the result of cutting, as an incision, wound, passage, or channel.
3. a piece cut off:

   a cut of a pie.

4. Informal. a share, especially of earnings or profits:

   His agent's cut is 20 percent.

5. a haircut, often with a styling.
6. a reduction in price, salary, etc.
7. the manner or fashion in which anything is cut:

   the cut of a dress.

8. style; manner; kind:

   We need a man of his cut in this firm.

9. a passage or course straight across or through:

   a cut through the woods.

10. an excision or omission of a part.
11. a part or quantity of text deleted or omitted.
12. a quantity cut, especially of lumber.
13. a refusal to recognize an acquaintance.
14. an act, speech, etc., that wounds the feelings.
15. an engraved plate or block of wood used for printing.
16. a printed picture or illustration.
17. an absence, as from a school class, at which attendance is required.
18. Butchering. part of an animal usually cut as one piece.
19. Cards. a cutting of the cards.
20. Sports.
    1. the act of cutting a ball.
    2. the spin imparted.
21. Fencing. a blow with the edge of the blade instead of the tip.
22. one of several pieces of straw, paper, etc., used in drawing lots.
23. Movies, Television.
    1. the instantaneous or gradual transition from one shot or scene to another in an edited film.
    2. an edited version of a film. Compare rough cut, final cut.
    3. an act or instance of editing a film.
24. an individual song, musical piece, or other similar material on a record or tape.
25. any product of the fractional distillation of petroleum.
26. Slang. a vest worn by motorcyclists, typically made of leather or sometimes denim, and often decorated with patches, insignias, etc.

verb phrase

1. 1. Also cut down on. to lessen; decrease:

      to cut down on between-meal snacks.

   2. to strike and cause to fall:

      The first force to attempt an advance was swiftly cut down.

   3. to destroy, kill, or disable:

      The hurricane cut down everything in its path.

   4. to remodel, remake, or reduce in size, as a garment:

      She had her old coat cut down to fit her daughter.

2. to precede or go beyond considerations of; transcend:

   The new tax program cuts across party lines.

3. 1. to intercept.
   2. to interrupt.
   3. to stop suddenly; discontinue.
   4. to halt the operation of; turn off.
   5. to shut off or shut out.
   6. to disinherit.
   7. to sever; separate.
4. 1. to move or thrust oneself, a vehicle, etc., abruptly between others:

      A speeding car cut in and nearly caused an accident.

   2. to interpose; interrupt:

      to cut in with a remark.

   3. Informal. to interrupt a dancing couple in order to dance with one of them.
   4. to blend (shortening) into flour by means of a knife.
5. 1. to omit; delete; excise.
   2. to oust and replace a rival; supplant.
   3. to part an animal from a herd.
   4. to plan; arrange:

      He has his work cut out for him.

   5. to move out of one's lane of traffic.
   6. Also cut on out. Slang. to leave suddenly.
   7. Informal. to refrain from; stop:

      to cut out smoking.

   8. (of an engine, machine, etc.) to stop running.
6. 1. to cut into pieces or sections.
   2. to lacerate; wound.
   3. to distress mentally; injure.
   4. Informal. to play pranks; misbehave:

      They were scolded for cutting up in church.

cut

/ kʌt /

verb

1. to open up or incise (a person or thing) with a sharp edge or instrument; gash
2. (of a sharp instrument) to penetrate or incise (a person or thing)
3. to divide or be divided with or as if with a sharp instrument

   cut a slice of bread

4. intr to use a sharp-edged instrument or an instrument that cuts
5. tr to trim or prune by or as if by clipping

   to cut hair

6. tr to reap or mow (a crop, grass, etc)
7. tr to geld or castrate
8. trsometimes foll byout to make, form, or shape by cutting

   to cut a suit

9. tr to hollow or dig out; excavate

   to cut a tunnel through the mountain

10. to strike (an object) sharply
11. tr sport to hit (a ball) with a downward slicing stroke so as to impart spin or cause it to fall short
12. cricket to hit (the ball) to the off side, usually between cover and third man, with a roughly horizontal bat
13. to hurt or wound the feelings of (a person), esp by malicious speech or action
14. informal.
    tr to refuse to recognize; snub
15. informal.
    tr to absent oneself from (an activity, location, etc), esp without permission or in haste

    to cut class

16. tr to abridge, shorten, or edit by excising a part or parts
17. troften foll bydown to lower, reduce, or curtail

    to cut losses

18. tr to dilute or weaken

    heroin that was cut with nontoxic elements

19. tr to dissolve or break up

    to cut fat

20. whenintr, foll by across or through to cross or traverse

    the footpath cuts through the field

21. intr to make a sharp or sudden change in direction; veer
22. to grow (teeth) through the gums or (of teeth) to appear through the gums
23. intr films
    1. to call a halt to a shooting sequence
    2. foll by to to move quickly to another scene
24. films to edit (film)
25. tr to switch off (a light, car engine, etc)
26. tr (of a performer, recording company, etc) to make (a record or tape of a song, concert, performance, etc)
27. cards
    1. to divide (the pack) at random into two parts after shuffling
    2. intr to pick cards from a spread pack to decide dealer, partners, etc
28. tr to remove (material) from an object by means of a chisel, lathe, etc
29. tr (of a tool) to bite into (an object)
30. intr (of a horse) to injure the leg just above the hoof by a blow from the opposite foot
31. cut a caper or cut capers
    1. to skip or jump playfully
    2. to act or behave playfully; frolic
32. cut both ways
    1. to have both good and bad effects
    2. to affect both sides of something, as two parties in an argument, etc
33. cut a dash
    to behave or dress showily or strikingly; make a stylish impression
34. cut a person dead informal.
    to ignore a person completely
35. cut a good figure
    to appear or behave well
36. cut a poor figure
    to appear or behave badly
37. cut and run informal.
    to make a rapid escape
38. cut it slang.
    be successful in doing something
39. cut it fine informal.
    to allow little margin of time, space, etc
40. cut corners
    to do something in the easiest or shortest way, esp at the expense of high standards

    we could finish this project early only if we cut corners

41. cut loose
    to free or become freed from restraint, custody, anchorage, etc
42. cut no ice informal.
    to fail to make an impression
43. cut one's losses
    to give up spending time, money, or energy on an unprofitable or unsuccessful activity
44. cut one's teeth on informal.
    1. to use at an early age or stage
    2. to practise on

adjective

1. detached, divided, or separated by cutting
2. botany incised or divided

   cut leaves

3. made, shaped, or fashioned by cutting
4. reduced or diminished by or as if by cutting

   cut prices

5. gelded or castrated
6. weakened or diluted
7. a slang word for drunk
8. hurt; resentful
9. cut and dried informal.
   settled or arranged in advance
10. cut lunch
    a sandwich lunch carried from home to work, school, etc

noun

1. the act of cutting
2. a stroke or incision made by cutting; gash
3. a piece or part cut off, esp a section of food cut from the whole

   a cut of meat

4. the edge of anything cut or sliced
5. a passage, channel, path, etc, cut or hollowed out
6. an omission or deletion, esp in a text, film, or play
7. a reduction in price, salary, etc
8. a decrease in government finance in a particular department or area, usually leading to a reduction of services, staff numbers, etc
9. short for power cut
10. a quantity of timber cut during a specific time or operation
11. informal.
    a portion or share
12. informal.
    a straw, slip of paper, etc, used in drawing lots
13. the manner or style in which a thing, esp a garment, is cut; fashion
14. 1. a person's general appearance

       I didn't like the cut of him

    2. a dirty or untidy condition

       look at the cut of your shoes

15. a direct route; short cut
16. the US name for block
17. sport the spin of a cut ball
18. cricket a stroke made with the bat in a roughly horizontal position
19. films an immediate transition from one shot to the next, brought about by splicing the two shots together
20. informal.
    an individual piece of music on a record; track
21. words or an action that hurt another person's feelings
22. a refusal to recognize an acquaintance; snub
23. informal.
    an unauthorized absence, esp from a school class
24. chem a fraction obtained in distillation, as in oil refining
25. the metal removed in a single pass of a machine tool
26. 1. the shape of the teeth of a file
    2. their coarseness or fineness
27. a stretch of water, esp a canal
28. a cut above informal.
    superior (to); better (than)
29. make the cut
    golf to better or equal the required score after two rounds in a strokeplay tournament, thus avoiding elimination from the final two rounds
30. miss the cut
    golf to achieve a greater score after the first two rounds of a strokeplay tournament than that required to play in the remaining two rounds

Other Words From

• half-cut adjective
• mis·cut verb miscut miscutting
• out·cut verb (used with object) outcut outcutting
• re·cut verb recut recutting
• well-cut adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cut¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English cutten, kitten, kytten, Old English cyttan (unrecorded); akin to Old Swedish kotta “to cut,” Old Norse kuti “little knife”

Word History and Origins

Origin of cut¹

C13: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian kutte to cut, Icelandic kuti small knife

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. a cut above, somewhat superior to another (thing, person, etc.) in some respect:

   Her work is a cut above anyone else's.

2. cut a figure,
   1. cut a caper.
   2. to give a certain impression of oneself:

      He cut a distinguished figure in his tuxedo.

3. cut a caper / figure, to perform a spirited, brief, outlandish dance step, especially as a result of euphoria.
4. cut and run,
   1. Nautical. to cut the anchor cable and set sail, as in an emergency.
   2. to leave as hurriedly as possible; flee.
5. cut back,
   1. to shorten by cutting off the end.
   2. to curtail or discontinue:

      Steel production has been cut back in recent months.

   3. to return to an earlier episode or event, as in the plot of a novel.
   4. Football. to reverse direction suddenly by moving in the diagonally opposite course.
6. cut both ways, to have, produce, or result in advantages as well as disadvantages:

   This decision will inevitably cut both ways.

7. cut down to size, to reduce the stature or importance of: Also chop down to size.

   The novelist had a big ego until the critics cut him down to size.

8. cut it out, Informal. to stop doing something:

   That hurts! Cut it out!

9. cut it, Informal.
   1. to achieve or maintain a desired level of performance:

      The aging football player decided he couldn't cut it any longer and retired.

   2. to be effective or successful; satisfy a need.
10. cut no ice, Informal. ice ( def 25 ).
11. cut out for, fitted for; capable of:

    He wasn't cut out for military service.

12. cut the cheese, Slang. cheese ¹( def 13 ).

More idioms and phrases containing cut

• (cut) down to size
• fish or cut bait
• have one's work cut out
• like a chicken with its head cut off
• make (cut) a long story short
• unkindest cut
• you could cut it with a knife

Synonym Study

Cut, chop, hack, hew refer to giving a sharp blow or stroke. Cut is a general word for this: to cut the grass. To chop is to cut by giving repeated blows with something sharp, as an ax. To chop and to hew are practically interchangeable, but hew suggests keeping to a definite purpose: to chop or hew down a tree; to hew out a clearing. To hack is to cut or chop roughly and unevenly: to hack off a limb.

Example Sentences

At every step in the process of making an ad, everyone is taking their cut.

From Salon

But now, a new kind of culture war is brewing among the creative class — one that cuts deeper into professional and personal identities.

From Salon

The Fine Gael leader disagreed with her and cut their conversation short, but has since expressed regret for not giving Ms Fallon the time she "deserved" to discuss her concerns.

From BBC

China is still defined by the United Nations as a "developing" country, meaning it has no formal obligation to cut greenhouse gas emissions or provide financial help to poorer countries.

From BBC

Keeping the games on TV despite budget cuts has been David Otta Productions, which took over as a third party to produce the games in 2023.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• cutback
• decrease
• reduction
• saving

More About Cut

What is a basic definition of cut?

Cut is a verb that means to use a sharp tool on something, to stop, or to reduce. The word cut has many other senses as a verb, adjective, and noun.

To cut something is to use a sharp tool to chop, sever, slice, or divide something. Cut has several different specific senses depending on the tool being used. For example, when you use scissors to cut hair, you are snipping pieces of hair off. When you use a knife to cut a cake, you are carefully dividing the cake into pieces. A person that cuts something is called a cutter.

• Real-life examples: Scissors, knives, scalpels, saws, swords, axes, and lawnmowers are some tools that are used to cut things.
• Used in a sentence: Be careful that you don’t cut your hand with that sharp knife.

Cut is used in a similar sense as a noun to mean something that is caused by cutting (such as a wound) or a piece that has been cut from something.

• Used in a sentence: I was fooling around with the saw and got a bad cut on my leg.

He reached in and grabbed the biggest cut of the pie.

Informally, cut is used as a verb to mean to stop doing something.

• Used in a sentence: I need you to cut the jokes and start being serious.

Cut can also mean to lower or reduce something. This sense of cut is sometimes followed by the word down.

• Real-life examples: Prices can be cut (lowered). Your homework can be cut down (reduced in the amount you have). A speech can be cut (reduced in length). Many people cut calories (reduce the number of calories they eat) when trying to lose weight.
• Used in a sentence: We tried to cut costs by using cheaper wood.

Where does cut come from?

The first records of cut come from around 1175. It likely comes from the Old English cyttan and could be related to the Old Swedish kotta, meaning “to cut,” or the Old Norse kuti, meaning “small knife.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to cut?

• cutter (noun)
• uncut (adjective)
• half-cut (adjective)
• miscut (verb)
• recut (verb)

What are some synonyms for cut?

• chop
• slash
• slice
• reduce
• incision
• piece

What are some words that share a root or word element with cut? 

• cutback
• cut a deal
• cut corners
• cut loose
• cut to the chase
• cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face

What are some words that often get used in discussing cut?

• sharp
• tool
• weapon
• wound
• hair
• grass
• food
• tree

How is cut used in real life?

Cut is an extremely common word that generally means to use a sharp tool on something.

I WAS CLEANING THE INSIDE OF MY BLENDER AND IT CUT MY FINGER 😭😭😭

— 𝒜𝓀𝒶𝓇𝒾⁹⁹ 💌 13k no Suzu 😭💔 (@kohahisas) January 9, 2021

Sometimes you gotta be tough on yourself and cut the complaining, stop the excuses and be determined to succeed. 💪

— Now We Are Warriors (@nowearewarriors) June 5, 2014

American Eagle needs to cut the prices down on their jeans cause I'm gonna go broke 😅

— clara (@clara18__) August 4, 2017

Try using cut!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of cut?

A. slice
B. slash
C. bash
D. chop