/ kʌt; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
( cut·ting , cut , cut )
WOUND / HOLE
1.
to make an opening or a wound in sth, especially with a sharp tool such as a knife or scissors :
[ vn ]
She cut her finger on a piece of glass.
He cut himself (= his face) shaving.
You need a powerful saw to cut through metal.
( figurative )
The canoe cut through the water.
[ vn - adj ]
She had fallen and cut her head open .
REMOVE WITH KNIFE
2.
cut sth (from sth) | cut (sb) sth | cut sth (for sb) to remove sth or a part of sth, using a knife, etc. :
[ vn ]
He cut four thick slices from the loaf.
a bunch of cut flowers
[ vnn , vn ]
I cut them all a piece of birthday cake.
I cut a piece of birthday cake for them all.
DIVIDE
3.
cut sth (in / into sth) to divide sth into two or more pieces with a knife, etc. :
[ vn ]
He cut the loaf into thick slices.
The bus was cut in two by the train.
Now cut the tomatoes in half.
Don't cut the string, untie the knots.
SHAPE / FORM
4.
[ vn ] cut sth (in sth) to make or form sth by removing material with a knife, etc. :
The climbers cut steps in the ice.
Workmen cut a hole in the pipe.
HAIR / NAILS / GRASS, etc.
5.
to make sth shorter by cutting :
[ vn ]
to cut your hair / nails
to cut the grass / lawn / hedge
[ vn - adj ]
He's had his hair cut really short.
RELEASE
6.
cut sb (from sth) to allow sb to escape from somewhere by cutting the rope, object, etc. that is holding them :
[ vn ]
The injured driver had to be cut from the wreckage.
[ vn - adj ]
Two survivors were cut free after being trapped for twenty minutes.
CLOTHING
7.
[ vn - adj ] [ usually passive ] to design and make a piece of clothing in a particular way :
The swimsuit was cut high in the leg.
ABLE TO CUT / BE CUT
8.
[ v ] to be capable of cutting :
This knife won't cut.
9.
[ v ] to be capable of being cut :
Sandstone cuts easily.
REDUCE
10.
[ vn ] cut sth (by ... ) | cut sth (from ... ) (to ... ) to reduce sth by removing a part of it :
to cut prices / taxes / spending / production
Buyers will bargain hard to cut the cost of the house they want.
His salary has been cut by ten per cent.
Could you cut your essay from 5 000 to 3 000 words?
REMOVE
11.
[ vn ] cut sth (from sth) to remove sth from sth :
This scene was cut from the final version of the movie.
COMPUTING
12.
to delete (= remove) part of a text on a computer screen in order to place it somewhere else :
[ v ]
You can cut and paste between different programs.
[also vn ]
STOP
13.
[ vn ] ( informal ) used to tell sb to stop doing sth :
Cut the chatter and get on with your work!
END
14.
[ vn ] to completely end a relationship or all communication with sb
SYN sever :
She has cut all ties with her family.
IN MOVIE / TV
15.
[ vn ] to prepare a film / movie or tape by removing parts of it or putting them in a different order
SYN edit
—see also director's cut
16.
[ v ] (usually used in orders) to stop filming or recording :
The director shouted 'Cut!'
17.
[ v ] cut (from sth) to sth ( in films / movies, radio or television ) to move quickly from one scene to another :
The scene cuts from the bedroom to the street.
MISS CLASS
18.
[ vn ] ( informal , especially NAmE ) to stay away from a class that you should go to :
He's always cutting class .
UPSET
19.
[ vn ] to hurt sb emotionally :
His cruel remarks cut her deeply.
IN CARD GAMES
20.
to lift and turn up a pack / deck of playing cards in order to decide who is to play first, etc. :
[ v ]
Let's cut for dealer.
[also vn ]
GEOMETRY
21.
[ vn ] ( of a line ) to cross another line :
The line cuts the circle at two points.
A TOOTH
22.
[ vn ] cut a tooth to have a new tooth beginning to appear through the gum :
When did she cut her first tooth?
A DISC, etc.
23.
[ vn ] cut a disc, etc. to make a recording of music on a record, CD, etc. :
The Beatles cut their first disc in 1962.
DRUG
24.
[ vn ] cut sth (with sth) to mix an illegal drug such as heroin with another substance
•
IDIOMS
Most idioms containing cut are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example cut your losses is at loss .
- cut and run
- (not) cut it
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- cut across sth
- cut sth away (from sth)
- cut sth back
- cut sb down
- cut sth down
- cut sth down (to ... ) | cut down (on sth)
- cut in
- cut in (on sb/sth)
- cut sb in (on sth)
- cut sb off
- cut sb/sth off
- cut sth off
- cut sb/sth off (from sb/sth)
- cut out
- cut sb out (of sth)
- cut sth out
- cut sth out (of sth)
- be cut out for sth | be cut out to be sth
- cut through sth
- cut up
- cut sb up
- cut sb/sth up
- cut sth up
■ noun
WOUND
1.
a wound caused by sth sharp :
cuts and bruises on the face
Blood poured from the deep cut on his arm.
HOLE
2.
a hole or an opening in sth, made with sth sharp :
Using sharp scissors, make a small cut in the material.
REDUCTION
3.
cut (in sth) a reduction in amount, size, supply, etc. :
price / tax / job cuts
They had to take a 20% cut in pay.
They announced cuts in public spending.
—see also power cut , short cut
OF HAIR
4.
[ usually sing. ] an act of cutting sb's hair; the style in which it is cut :
Your hair could do with a cut (= it is too long) .
a cut and blow-dry
—see also buzz cut
OF CLOTHING
5.
[ usually sing. ] the shape and style that a piece of clothing has because of the way the cloth is cut :
the elegant cut of her dress
SHARE OF MONEY
6.
a share in sth, especially money :
They were rewarded with a cut of 5% from the profits.
OF MOVIE / PLAY, etc.
7.
cut (in sth) an act of removing part of a film / movie, play, piece of writing, etc. :
The director objected to the cuts ordered by the censor.
She made some cuts before handing over the finished novel.
MEAT
8.
a piece of meat cut from an animal :
a lean cut of pork
cheap cuts of stewing lamb
—see also cold cuts
•
IDIOMS
- a cut above sb/sth
- the cut and thrust (of sth)
••
SYNONYMS
cut
slash ♦ cut back ♦ scale back ♦ rationalize ♦ downsize
These words all mean to reduce the amount or size of sth, especially of an amount of money or a business.
cut
to reduce sth, especially an amount of money that is demanded, spent, earned, etc. or the size of a business:
The President has promised to cut taxes significantly.
•
Buyers will bargain hard to cut the cost of the house they want.
•
His salary has been cut by ten per cent.
•
Could you cut your essay from 5 000 to 3 000 words?
slash
[often passive] ( rather informal ) (often used in newspapers) to reduce sth by a large amount:
The workforce has been slashed by half.
cut sth back/ cut back on sth
to reduce sth, especially an amount of money or business:
We had to cut back production.
scale sth back
( especially NAmE or business ) to reduce sth, especially an amount of money or business:
The IMF has scaled back its growth forecasts for the next decade.
rationalize
( BrE business ) to make changes to a business or system, in order to make it more efficient, especially by spending less money.
downsize
( business ) to make a company or organization smaller by reducing the number of jobs in it, in order to reduce costs.
NOTE
Downsize is often used by people who want to avoid saying more obvious words like 'dismiss' or 'make redundant' because they sound too negative.
scale sth down
to reduce the number, size or extent of sth:
We are scaling down our training programmes next year.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to cut sth / slash sth / cut sth back / downsize / scale sth down considerably / drastically
to cut / slash / cut back on / scale back / rationalize spending / production
to cut / slash / cut back on jobs
to cut / slash / downsize the workforce
to cut / slash / rationalize the cost of sth
to cut / slash prices / taxes / the budget
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (probably existing, although not recorded, in Old English ); probably of Germanic origin and related to Norwegian kutte and Icelandic kuta cut with a small knife, kuti small blunt knife.