v. 1 gash, slash, slit; open I cut my finger on the glass 2 slice, cut off, carve Please cut me a thick piece of steak 3 Often, cut up. hurt, wound, pain, upset, grieve, distress, aggrieve, slight, insult, offend, affront I was really all cut up by her nasty remarks 4 trim, snip, lop, clip, crop, shorten, shear, chop off; mow; dock The barber has cut too much off the sides 5 abbreviate, shorten, crop, condense, abridge, edit, cut back, reduce, cut down; epitomize, abstract, digest, summarize, curtail Cut this script to make it fit into the allotted time 6 dilute, thin, water (down), weaken; degrade, adulterate They cut the rum with water to make grog 7 avoid, fail to attend, eschew Cynthia cut classes three days this week 8 lower, reduce, lessen, cut back (on), cut down (on), slash, diminish, decrease, retrench (on), curtail We shall have to cut expenses if the company is to survive 9 conclude, settle, agree Once the deal was cut, there was no going back on it 10 prepare, draw, write, sign We'll have accounting cut your cheque and send it at once 11 cut back. a See 5, above. b See 8, above. 12 Often, cut dead. snub, slight, spurn, shun, ignore, give the cold shoulder (to) Cornelia had the gall to cut Jason dead at his own party 13 cut down. a fell, chop or hew down Don't cut down that tree! b kill, cut off, murder, assassinate He was cut down in his prime 14 cut in. interrupt, intrude, interfere, Colloq butt in Please don't cut in on our conversation 15 cut off. a cleave, sever, chop or lop or hack off Cut the branch off near the trunk b intercept, interrupt, discontinue, end, stop, terminate, break off There was a click and our phone conversation was cut off c separate, sever, split, estrange He's been cut off from the family for years d disinherit, disown, reject She was cut off with a shilling 16 cut out. a delete, remove, excise, strike or cross out, edit out, omit, cut, kill, Technical dele The publishers made me cut out parts of the book that they were advised might be libellous b extract, excise, remove, resect My appendix was cut out years ago c stop, cease, desist (from), quit Whenever it rains the engine cuts out Cut out the clowning around. d suit, equip, fit I don't think Cyril's cut out to be a lumberjack e plan, prepare, ready, organize, destine He certainly has his work cut out for him! 17 cut up a chop (up), dice, cube, mince, cut, divide (up), carve (up) Cut the celery up very small b misbehave The football supporters began to cut up rough 18 cut up rough. get angry, lose one's temper, show resentment The driver began to cut up rough when I refused to pay
n. 19 gash, slash, incision, nick, wound I got a nasty cut from that razor 20 share, portion, percentage, piece, dividend, commission Blatchley gets a cut on every car we sell 21 reduction, cut-back, curtailment, decrease The government's cuts in spending affect us all 22 deletion, excision, omission The author refuses to approve the cuts in the script 23 affront, insult, offence, slight, snub, dig, jibe, slap in the face, cold shoulder The unkindest cut was the accusation of cheating 24 engraving, plate This cut is too badly worn for use now 25 artwork, picture, illustration, plate, drawing, line cut, line engraving, half-tone The book has 300 cuts and only 20 pages of text
adj. 26 separated, detached, severed I prefer cut flowers to a plant 27 abridged, abbreviated, cut-down, shortened, edited, curtailed The magazine published a cut version of the novel 28 reduced, diminished, lowered, discounted This shop sells everything at cut prices 29 cut and dried. a clear-cut, settled, arranged, decided, predetermined, prearranged Unfortunately, the solution to this problem is not cut and dried b stale, unoriginal, trite, hackneyed, old; dull, boring His suggestions for improvement are always cut and dried c manufactured, automatic, unchanging, unchanged Mr Mackay will again present his old cut and dried plan