cut; cutting
1
a
: to penetrate with or as if with an edged instrument
cut one's hand with a knife
b
: to hurt the feelings of
Her sarcasm cut him to the quick.
c
: to strike sharply with a cutting effect
cut him across the legs with a whip
d
: to strike (a ball) with a glancing blow that imparts a reverse spin
cut a tennis ball with an inclined racket
e
: to experience the growth of (a tooth) through the gum
The toddler is cutting a tooth.
f
: to harm (oneself) by making cuts or scratches on one's body
The reasons given for self-inflicted violence indicate that it is a way of relieving intolerable feelings. When cutting themselves, women (and sometimes men) report that they do not feel any pain.—
Deborah Feller
Deborah Feller2
b
: to shorten by omissions
cut the manuscript
c
: dilute, adulterate
cut the whiskey with water
d
: to reduce in amount
cut costs
e
: to remove (something, such as text or a picture) from a computer document and place it on the clipboard so that it can be pasted into another position, document, or program
3
c(1)
: to separate or discharge from an organization
cut them from the team
(2)
: to single out and isolate
cut a calf out from the herd
d
: to turn sharply
The driver cut the steering wheel hard.
e
: to go or pass around or about : bypass
cut the checkout line
4
a
: to divide into segments
cut the cake
d(1)
: to divide (a deck of cards) into two portions
(2)
: to draw (a card) from the deck
e
: to divide into shares : split
f
: analyze, break down
Any way you cut it, we won.
5
b(1)
: to sing, play, or act for the recording of
cut an album
cut a commercial
(2)
: to sing or play (a song, a track, etc.) for a studio recording
c
: to type on a stencil
d
: edit sense 1b
cut a motion picture
6
7
a
: to engage in (a frolicsome or mischievous action)
… on summer nights strange capers are cut under the thin guise of a Christian festival.—Donald Culross Peattie
Donald Culross Peattie
b
: to give the appearance or impression of
cut a fine figure
8
: to be able to manage or handle
—usually used in negative constructions
can't cut that kind of work anymore
9
a
: to yield or accord to another : give
cut me some slack
b
: to fill out and sign (a check)
1
a
: to function as or as if as an edged tool
This knife cuts well.
b
: to undergo incision or severance
The cheese cuts easily.
c
: to perform the operation of dividing, severing, incising, or intersecting
The tailor is busy cutting.
d
: to make a stroke with a whip, sword, or other weapon
e
: to wound feelings or sensibilities
remarks that cut
f
: to cause constriction or chafing
a coat that cuts at the armpits
g
: to be of effect, influence, or significance
an analysis that cuts deep
2
a(1)
: to divide a pack of cards especially in order to decide the deal or settle a bet
(2)
: to draw a card from the pack
b
: to divide spoils : split
3
a
: to proceed obliquely (see oblique entry 1 sense 1) from a straight course
cut across the yard
b
: to move swiftly
a yacht cutting through the water
c
: to describe an oblique or diagonal line
d
: to change sharply in direction : swerve
The driver cut across three lanes of traffic.
e
: to make an abrupt transition from one sound or image to another in motion pictures, radio, or television
The film cuts from the ballroom to the garden.
f
: to make a sudden transition or imaginative leap
The story cuts to 1917.
4
: to stop photographing motion pictures
The director yelled "Cut!"
5
: to advance by skipping or bypassing another
cut to the front of the line
6
: to engage in self-harm by making cuts or scratches on one's body
middle school students reporting they knew of several classmates who cut
1
: a product of cutting: such as
a(1)
: an opening made with an edged instrument
(2)
: a wound made by something sharp : gash
b
: a creek, channel, or inlet made by excavation or worn by natural action
c
: a surface or outline left by cutting
d
: a passage cut as a roadway
e
: a grade or step especially in a social scale
a cut above the ordinary
f
: a subset of a set such that when it is subtracted from the set the remainder is not connected
g
: a pictorial illustration
2
: the act or an instance of cutting: such as
a
: a gesture or expression that hurts the feelings
made an unkind cut
b
: a straight passage or course
c
: a stroke or blow with the edge of a knife or other edged tool
d
: a lash with or as if with a whip
e
: the act of reducing or removing a part
a cut in pay
f
: an act or turn of cutting cards
also
: the result of cutting
g
: the elimination of part of a large field from further participation, consideration, or competition (as in a golf tournament)
—often used with miss or make to denote respectively being or not being among those eliminated
played well and made the cut
3
: something that is cut or cut off: such as
a
: a length of cloth varying from 40 to 100 yards (36.6 to 91.4 meters)
b
: the yield of products cut especially during one harvest
c
: a segment or section of a meat carcass or a part of one
d
: a group of animals selected from a herd
e
: share
took his cut of the profits
4
: a voluntary absence from a class
5
a
: a stroke that cuts a ball
also
: the spin imparted by such a stroke
b
: a swing by a batter at a pitched baseball
c
: an exchange of captures in checkers
6
: a result of editing: such as
a
: an abrupt transition from one sound or image to another in movies, radio, or television
b
: an edited version of a film
: marked by a well-developed and highly defined musculature
cut abs
Synonyms
Examples of cut in a Sentence
Verb
cutting a piece of string
He uses the ax to cut wood.
The meat is so tender you can cut it with a fork.
Cut along the dotted line.
The saw easily cuts through metal.
She cut into the melon with a knife.
I cut myself while shaving.
I had a cut finger.
We were fighting, and he tried to cut me with his knife.
Pieces of broken glass cut her face and arms.
Noun
Make a few small cuts in the crust to let the air escape.
a two-inch cut in the cloth
He came home covered in cuts and bruises.
Further cuts in spending are needed.
You'll have to make a few cuts in your manuscript if you want us to publish it.
Recent Examples on the Web
Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
European countries, meanwhile, have some of the world’s strictest targets to cut emissions by 2030 — but have also secured new gas supplies following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
—Reuters, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024
Consumers will find price cuts on tech gadgets, clothing, home goods, toys, and personal care items.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cut 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
With the extra attacker out, Fabian Zetterlund scored a power-play goal with 26 seconds left in regulation time to cut the Rangers lead to 3-2, but the Sharks could not find the equalizer.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
European countries, meanwhile, have some of the world’s strictest targets to cut emissions by 2030 — but have also secured new gas supplies following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
—Reuters, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
Noun
Many Democrats campaigned on a tax-the-rich agenda and advocated paying for other tax cuts by targeting those provisions, as well as rolling back the law’s tax cuts for corporations and individuals making more than $400,000 per year.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024
Consumers will find price cuts on tech gadgets, clothing, home goods, toys, and personal care items.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cut
Dictionary Entries Near cut
Cite this Entry
“Cut.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cut. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cut
1 of 2 verb
cut; cutting
1
a
: to penetrate or divide with or as if with an edged tool (as a knife)
cut my finger
cutting and pasting colored paper
cut the pie
b
: to function as an edged tool
be careful—that glass will cut
this old knife won't cut anymore
c
: to be able to be cut
cheese cuts easily
d
: to harm (oneself) by making cuts or scratches on one's body
2
: to experience the growth of through the gum
the baby is cutting teeth
3
: to hurt the feelings of
the remark cut me
4
a
: trim entry 1 sense 3a
cut your hair
b
: mow entry 2 sense 1
cut the grass
c
: dissolve sense 2
a detergent cuts grease
5
: to make smaller
cut costs
6
: to remove with or as if with a knife
cut a piece of ham
cut two players from the team
7
: to remove (something) from a computer document in such a way that it can be moved to another part of the document or to another document
8
a
: to go straight rather than around
cut across the backyard
b
: intersect sense 1, cross
lines cutting other lines
c
: to make a quick change of direction
go out 10 steps, then cut right and I'll throw you a pass
the camera cuts to the crowd in the street
9
: to divide a deck of cards
10
: to cause to stop
cut the nonsense
cut the engine
11
: snub entry 1 sense 2
cut a former friend
12
: to fail to attend
cut a class
13
a
: to make or shape with or as if with an edged tool
farmers cut clearings out of the wilderness
cut a diamond
b
: to record sounds on
cut a record
14
: to give the appearance of
cuts a fine figure
15
: to advance by skipping or going around another
cut to the front of the line
cut
2 of 2 noun1
a
: something cut or cut off
a cut of beef
b
: share entry 1 sense 1
your cut of the winnings
2
a
: a product of cutting
b
: a wound made by something sharp
c
: a passage made by cutting
a railroad cut
d
: a grade or step especially in a social scale
a cut above the ordinary
e
: a pictorial illustration
3
a
: an act or instance of cutting
b
: something done or said that hurts the feelings
an unkind cut
c
: an act of removing a part
a cut in pay
d
: an act or turn of cutting cards
it's your cut
4
: a voluntary absence from a class
5
: a swing by a batter at the ball
took a good cut
6
a
: a sudden switch from one sound or image to another in movies, radio, or television
b
: an edited version of a film
7
: the shape and style in which a thing is cut, formed, or made
clothes of the latest cut
8
: the act of reducing the size of a group (as of competitors) by removing the less skillful
played well and made the cut
9
: a recorded song
Medical Definition
cut
1 of 2 verb
cut; cutting
1
a
: to penetrate with or as if with an edged instrument
b
: to cut or operate on in surgery: as
(1)
: to subject (a domestic animal) to castration
(2)
: to perform lithotomy on
c
: to experience the emergence of (a tooth) through the gum
2
: to subject to trimming or paring
cut one's nails
1
: to function as or in the manner of an edged tool
a knife that cuts well
2
: to cut in surgery : operate
cut
2 of 2 noun1
: a product of cutting: as
a
: an opening made with an edged instrument
b
: a wound made by something sharp
2
: a stroke or blow with the edge of a sharp implement (as a knife)
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