transitive verb
1. : to shorten by cutting off the end
cut back a word
: prune
cut back the shoots of a plant
2. : to return (a distillate) to a still (as in petroleum refining) ; also : to thin (as asphalt) by the addition of lighter oils
3. : reduce , decrease ; sometimes : eliminate , abolish
cut back military expenditure
cut back reforestation work
intransitive verb
: to interrupt the sequence of a plot by introducing events prior to those last presented
then the script cut back to the old man's childhood