CUT

I. ˈkət, usu -əd.+V verb

( cut ; cut ; cutting ; cuts )

Etymology: Middle English cutten, kitten; perhaps akin to Swedish dialect kata to cut

transitive verb

1.

a. : to penetrate with or as if with an edged instrument : cleave , pierce : make an incision in : gash , slash

cut one's hand with a knife

b.

(1) : to operate on : castrate (as a domestic animal)

(2) : to perfrom lithotomy upon

c. : to hurt the feelings of

sarcasm cuts him to the quick

d. : to strike sharply with a cutting effect

cut him across the legs with a whip

e. : to slice or enter into with an effect like that of an edged instrument

icy blasts that cut one to the marrow

f. : to score the surface of (a cylinder or bearing) by moving other parts over it usually without sufficient lubrication

g. : to experience the growth of (a tooth) through the gum

2. : to reduce by or as if by severing a part: as

a. : trim , pare

cut one's nails

b. : to shorten (as for reading or presentation) by omissions

cut a manuscript

c. : to reduce the intensity of:

(1) : to cause to be less thick, viscous, or tenacious : dissolve , dilute

alcohol cuts shellac

(2) : to dilute or adulterate (liquor) by adding water or other nonalcoholic liquid : reduce the concentration or strength of

d. : to reduce in amount : lower , diminish

cut prices

e. : to trim (book edges) slightly in order to loosen leaves for reading, produce pleasing margins, or bring the book to the size desired

f. : to remove (excess metal) with an edged tool or an oxidizing flame

g. : to trim and join (motion-picture shots or sound tracks) : edit (a film) by rearrangements and omissions

h. : to take away show points from (an animal being shown) for a fault (as of conformation or color)

3.

a.

(1) : mow , reap

cut hay

(2) : to sever from the growing plant

cut flowers

(3) : to yield as a crop

that field cuts several tons of hay

b.

(1) : to divide into parts or to sever a part from by an edged tool

cut bread

(2) : to separate or remove by an edged tool

cut a slice of bread

(3) : to divide for distribution or apportionment : carve

cut meat

c. : fell , hew

cut timber

d. : to slit (folded but untrimmed pages of a book)

e. : to separate (a person) from an organization

a coach who cut two men from his football squad

: detach : single out and remove, extract, or isolate — often used with out

cutting these steers out from the herd

f. : to uncouple (two railroad cars or a car and locomotive)

g.

(1) : to hit (a ball) with a glancing blow so as to deflect it and put a spin on it

cut a tennis ball with an inclined racket

(2) cricket : to deflect (a bowled ball) to the off with a chopping stroke

(3) : to hit and propel (an object ball in pool or billiards) at a marked angle by a very fine contact

h. : to cause to move along (as a timber, roller, or gun) by prying or driving each end alternately sideways

i. : to change the direction of : turn

the driver cut the wheels sharply

j. : to proceed with a very near approach to : skirt

4.

a. : to divide into segments : separate into parts with an action or result suggestive of that of an edged instrument : divide off or up

b. : intersect , cross

the lines cut one another

c. : to describe (an intersecting line)

cutting a diagonal across the state

d. : break , interrupt , sever : make the use of for travel, transportation, or communication impossible : break the continuity of

the enemy had cut our communication line

e.

(1) : to divide or separate (a deck of cards) especially into two portions by removing cards from the top

(2) : to draw (a card) from the deck especially for the purpose of deciding the deal

f. : to salt out (as soap)

g. : to cut apart (full printed sheets of text, maps, or illustrations) in preparation for binding

h. : to divide (as spoils or profits) into shares : split

i. of a pitched baseball : to pass over (a part of the plate)

a fast ball that cut the inside corner

5.

a. : stop , cease : desist from

cut the nonsense

b. : to break off an acquaintance with : ostracize

friends cut him as news of the scandal spread

: refuse to recognize (an acquaintance)

cut him dead in the street

c. : to absent oneself usually without excuse from (a lecture, recitation, or other academic function or an engagement)

d. : to stop (a motor or engine) by opening a switch or closing a throttle valve : turn off : adjust to a lesser or minimal speed or intensity

e. : to terminate the photographing of (a motion-picture scene)

f. : to terminate the transmission of (part of a radio or television program)

g. : to ignore an admonition or direction of and proceed

cut a red light

6.

a. : to make by or as if by cutting : give form or shape to by cutting: as

(1) : to carve (as a statue)

(2) : to shape (as by grinding facets)

cut a diamond

(3) : to engrave (as a woodcut)

(4) : to shear out

(5) : to hollow out (as by erosion), bore, or excavate

floodwaters cut new channels

cut a tunnel

(6) : to pierce (as by excavation)

cut a dike

b. : to record a speech, musical selection, or other sound on (a phonograph record)

c. : to type (a stencil) : type on a stencil

army orders being cut

7.

a. : to engage in (a grotesque, frolicsome, or mischievous action) — used especially in the phrases cut a caper and cut didoes

b. : to give the appearance or impression of : make — usually used with figure as object

tall and stately, he cut a fine figure as a senator

intransitive verb

1.

a. : to do the work of or as if of an edged tool : serve in or as if in dividing or gashing

a knife that cuts well

b. : to permit of being cut : admit of incision or severance

cheese cuts easily

c. : to perform the operation of dividing, severing, incising, or intersecting : use a cutting instrument

a tailor busy cutting

d. : to pierce through incisively

e. of a horse : to interfere slightly especially by brushing the inner aspect of the corona of a hoof

f. : to make a stroke with a whip, sword, or other weapon

a duelist cutting at his adversary

: inflict a sharp painful stroke

a heavy whip that cuts deep

g. : to wound feelings or sensibilities

remarks that cut

h. : to cut in surgery : operate

i. : to have constricting and chafing effects

a coat that cuts at the armpits

j. : to be of effect, influence, or significance

an analysis that cuts deep

2.

a.

(1) : to divide a pack of cards into two or more portions in order to decide the deal or trump, change the order of the cards, or settle a bet as to who will have the highest

(2) : to draw a card from the pack in order to decide the deal or choice of seats or partners

b. : to divide spoils : split

3.

a. : to go, pass, or proceed especially with dispatch

cut along a side road

a launch cutting across the harbor

b. : to go across rather than around : make a short cut : proceed obliquely from a straight course

cut across the campus

cut down the alley

c. : to move away quickly : leave hurriedly

d. : to execute a dancing coupé

e. : to move swiftly as if passing through — usually with through

a yacht cutting through the water

f. : to describe an often oblique or diagonal line

a road that cuts through the swamp

g. : to change in direction : veer , swerve , turn

the carriage cut to the right

especially : to swerve sharply from one's original direction so as to elude an opponent

an end who cuts in to receive a pass

a wing who must cut in order to get around the defense

h. : to make an abrupt transition from one sound or image to another in motion pictures, radio, or television

i. : to stop a dancing couple and take the place of one of the partners — usually used with in

4. of a color in a painting : to stand out prominently

5.

a. : to absent oneself from an appointment or academic session

b. : to cease photographing motion pictures

c. of an engine or machine : to fail or cease operation

Synonyms:

carve , slit , slash , chop , hew : cut is a general term without much connotational force and is generally interchangeable with the others in this group. carve , in earlier English likewise general in meaning, is likely now to suggest purposive, deft, and careful cutting with a sharp knife or chisel to achieve a desired form or shape

carve a figure from wood

a statue carved from granite

slit indicates a narrow lengthwise cutting with a sharp instrument, often with some skill or dexterity

the surgeon slit the abdominal wall above the appendix

slit a sealed envelope

carve and slit may indicate care, skill, deftness, and restraint; slash , chop , and hew are likely to suggest violent forceful action. slash may suggest swinging sweeping strokes made forcefully or fiercely without precision in direction and inflicting gashes with a long blade as of a sword, machete, or straight razor

his face was slashed with dueling scars

slashing their way through the jungle

chop involves cutting with rough heavy blows made without precision with a heavier tool like a hatchet or chopping knife

chopping the wood into stove lengths

the workmen chopped down the tree

hew may suggest sustained great energy in cutting with a heavy tool like an ax or large chisel through something large or difficult

hew down a forest

hew a crypt out of the rock

•

- cut adrift

- cut a feather

- cut and run

- cut a rug

- cut a rusty

- cut a swathe

- cut both ways

- cut corners

- cut fine

- cut flush

- cut ice

- cut into

- cut loose

- cut one's eye

- cut one's eyeteeth

- cut one's teeth on

- cut one's throat

- cut short

- cut square

- cut stick

- cut the buck

- cut the ground from under

- cut the gun

- cut the knot

- cut the muster

- cut the pan

- cut to pieces

- cut to shape

- cut to the bone

- cut up touches

II. noun

( -s )

1. : something that is cut off : a severed part or portion : division , segment , piece : as

a.

[Middle English cut, cutte, from cutten, v.]

: one of a number of straws or sticks cut in uneven lengths and used to draw lots

b. : a slice of food (as of meat or bread)

c. : a unit indicating yarn size based on the number of fixed-length hanks per pound

a 1- cut asbestos or glass yarn has one 100-yard hank to the pound; a 4- cut has four 100-yard hanks per pound

a 1- cut woolen yarn has 300 yards per pound; a 6- cut has 1800 yards per pound

d.

(1) : a length of cloth as cut from a loom or packaged for selling varying from 40 to 100 yards in length

(2) : a section cut from such a length of cloth

he sold 5-yard cuts for dresses

e. : a field under cultivation : a specified part of such a field

f. : lunch , snack

g. : a part of a tree bough from which rails and board may be split

h. : the yield of products that are cut (as grain, timber, or lumber) during a specified period or operation

i. : a segment or section of a meat animal carcass : a piece from such a segment

a rib cut

j. cuts plural : persons who have cut each other socially : former friends now not speaking

k. : a part of a band of animals that has been separated from a main herd

l. : a fraction separated in the course of a process (as distilling)

the lighter cuts of petroleum

m. : share : portion of gain, profit, or loot : allotment from some often illicit venture

n. cuts plural : hard candies broken into irregular shapes and sizes

o. : a dispersion of a certain number of pounds of shellac or resin per gallon of volatile liquid paint

p. : a part of salable size cut off from a sponge too large to be marketable

q. : the material removed by a cutting tool : the thickness of the chip removed

a cut of 1/8 inch

r. : needles per inch in latch-needle circular or flat knitting machines : the relative fineness of fabric therefrom

s. : one or more scoring points taken from a show animal for a fault

t. : two or more cars coupled together or to a locomotive but not conforming to specifications for a train

u. : a compass bearing line or a set of intersecting bearing lines that indicate a ship's position

2.

a.

[Middle English, from cutten, v.]

now dialect : a man or woman who is disliked ; specifically : trollop

b. obsolete : plow horse, cart horse

3. : the effect produced by cutting: as

a. : a notch, creek, channel, or inlet made by excavation or worn by natural action (as of water)

a cut or canal

b. : an opening made with an edged instrument : cleft , gash , slash : a wound made by cutting

a cut in the thigh

c. obsolete : an ornamental slash in a garment

d. : a natural cleft resembling a cut

the cuts of a maple leaf

e. : a surface or outline left by cutting

a clean or smooth cut

f. : a passage cut as a roadway

a railway cut

g. : a grade or step (as in a social or economic scale)

be a cut above one's neighbor

a few lads several cuts above the ordinary — J.F.Powers

also : a social stratum

h. : a narrow opening in the floor of a theater stage for the passage of scenery

i. also cut point

(1) : a mathematical division : something that divides into two classes

(2) in the aggregate of rational numbers : a partition or border constituted by an irrational number

j. : the notchings made in a key

k.

(1) : a printing surface used for a pictorial illustration or matter not readily reproducible in type (as a line or halftone engraving or an electrotype or stereotype molded therefrom) — called also block

(2) : a print or impression from a cut ; also : any printed illustration

4. : the act or an instance of cutting: as

a. : a gesture or expression that wounds the feelings (as a harsh criticism or sarcastic remark) ; especially : personal discourtesy in neglecting to recognize an acquaintance

b. : a straight or easy passage or course

took a cut through the woods

c.

(1) : a stroke with the edge of a fencing weapon — distinguished from thrust

(2) : the motion of giving a cut

d. : a stroke or blow with the edge of a knife or other edged tool : the lash of a whip

e. : the act of removing a part (as of a composition) or reducing or dividing as if by use of a knife

make cuts in a drama

a cut in prices

salary cuts and other retrenchments

f. : a quick replacement of one foot by the other in dancing — compare coup é

g. of a horse : the action of cutting : interfering

h. : act or turn of cutting cards ; also : the result of cutting : a card so obtained

i.

(1) : a student's voluntary absence from a regular academic class or function at which attendance is expected

(2) : an instructor's or other official's absenting himself from class or other academic function and thereby canceling its meeting

giving his class a cut when he was out of town

j.

(1) : a stroke that cuts a ball ; also : the spin imparted by such a stroke

(2) : such a cricket stroke on the off side between point and the wicket ; also : a cricketer who plays this stroke — see late cut

(3) : a swing by a batter at a pitched baseball

k. : an exchange of captures in checkers

l. : an abrupt transition from one sound or image to another in motion pictures, radio, or television

5.

a. : the shape and style in which a thing is cut, formed, or made ; especially : the distribution of material or the design characterizing a garment

clothes of the latest cut

b. : pattern , type , appearance

an odd cut of a dog

others of her cut

c. : style of cutting a gem

d.

[by shortening]

: haircut

•

- cut of one's jib

III. adjective

Etymology: Middle English cutt, kitt, from past participle of cutten, kitten to cut

1. : subjected to cutting : formed or fashioned by cutting:

a. : detached by cutting ; specifically : cut from a growing plant

cut flowers

b. : sliced, chopped, or shredded ; specifically : shredded for use in smoking

cut tobacco

c. archaic : showing ornamental cuts or slashes

a cut doublet

d.

[Middle English, from cutt cut (castrated)]

: castrated

a cut horse

e. : cut from a coin of larger denomination — used especially of metallic money (as pieces of eight) circulated in the West Indies and in parts of the American mainland in the 18th and early 19th centuries

2. : incised , lobed

a flower with cut leaves

3. : drunk

cut last night and unable to remember

IV. transitive verb

1.

a. : to sing, play, or act for the studio recording or filming of

cut an album

cut a commercial

b. : to sing or play (as a song or a track) for a studio recording

cut a piano roll

2. : to be able to manage or handle — usually used in negative constructions

can't cut that kind of work anymore

intransitive verb

: to make a sudden transition or imaginative leap : pass abruptly (as from one subject, setting, or time to another)

the novel's narrative cuts back and forth between Chicago and New York

cut to 1917

•

- cut a deal

- cut it

- cut one's losses

- cut to the chase

V. noun

1. : a single song or musical piece on a phonograph record

2. : the elimination of part of a usually large field from further competition, participation, or consideration — often used with miss or make to denote respectively being or not being among those eliminated

played well and made the cut

3. : an edited version of a film

a director's cut