cut out phrasal verb ( see also ↑ cut )
1 . REMOVE SOMETHING cut something ↔ out to remove something by cutting round it:
The cancerous cells had to be cut out.
cut something ↔ out of
Billy showed me the article he’d cut out of the magazine.
2 . CUT A SHAPE cut something ↔ out to cut a shape from a piece of paper, cloth etc:
The children were cutting out squares from the scraps of material.
3 . STOP SOMETHING HAPPENING cut something ↔ out to stop something from happening or existing:
The idea behind these forms is to cut out fraud.
A catalytic converter will cut out 90% of carbon monoxide emissions.
4 . STOP DOING/EATING SOMETHING cut something ↔ out to stop doing or eating something, especially because it might be bad for your health:
The current advice to pregnant women is to cut out alcohol.
5 . FROM WRITING cut something ↔ out to remove something from a piece of writing, especially because it might offend people:
Cut out the bit about racial prejudice.
6 . cut it/that out spoken used to tell someone to stop doing something because it is annoying you:
Hey, you guys, cut it out – Mom’s trying to get some sleep.
7 . NOT INVOLVE SOMEBODY cut somebody ↔ out to stop someone from doing something or being involved in something:
The new rules will cut out 25% of people who were previously eligible to vote.
8 . be cut out for something ( also be cut out to be something ) [usually in questions and negatives] to have the qualities that you need for a particular job or activity:
In the end, I decided I wasn’t cut out for the army.
Are you sure you’re really cut out to be a teacher?
9 . ENGINE if an engine or machine cuts out, it suddenly stops working:
The engine cut out halfway across the lake.
10 . LIGHT/VIEW cut something ↔ out to prevent light, sound etc from reaching somewhere:
You’ll need sunglasses that will cut out harmful UV rays from the sun.
11 . cut somebody out to prevent someone from getting something, especially your money after your death:
Em’s father decided to cut her out of his will.
⇨ have your work cut out at ↑ work 2 (15), ⇨ cut out the middleman at ↑ middleman