cutout
Americannoun
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something cut out from something else, as a pattern or figure cut out or intended to be cut out of paper, cardboard, or other material.
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a valve in the exhaust pipe of an internal-combustion engine, which when open permits the engine to exhaust directly into the air ahead of the muffler.
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an act or instance of cutting out.
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Slang. a trusted intermediary between two espionage agents or agencies.
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Electricity. a device for the manual or automatic interruption of electric current.
Usage
What is a cutout? A cutout is something that is cut from something else, such as an image of a celebrity printed on a large sheet of cardboard with all the unprinted cardboard cut away.To cut out is to shape or form by cutting. The result is a cutout, as in When Darby made the wooden dollhouse, he made sure to include square cutouts in the walls to represent windows.In electrical engineering, a cutout is a device that interrupts the electrical current to a device, such as a lamp.Example: There was a cutout of the celebrity outside the theater on opening weekend.
Etymology
Origin of cutout
First recorded in 1790–1800; noun use of verb phrase cut out
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her home is a shrine to Regency England; a life-size cutout of actor Colin Firth—from what many consider the best of the many renditions of “Pride & Prejudice”—stands watch over her much-ruffled bedroom.
It’s got windows cut out along the side with animal faces painted next to the cutouts, making it look like the animals are stretching their necks out.
From Literature
I remember it was a kind of collage, full of cutout pictures of circus life, with clowns and acrobats and jugglers and horses, and elephants, of course, lots of elephants.
From Literature
Enlarged cutouts of samurai from woodblock prints strike aggressive poses between displays.
There’s no bad sightline in the space, from either the ground floor or upper level balcony, which looks out over a stage wreathed in pink neon and wood cutouts evoking the industrial cityscape outside.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
