Cut

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kÊŒt/
• Rhymes: -ÊŒt

Origin

From Middle English cutten, kitten, kytten, ketten, (), from Old English *cyttan ("to cut"), from Proto-Germanic *kutjanÄ…, *kuttanÄ… ("to cut"), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *kwetwÄ…

Old Norse Old Norse kvett ("meat")}. Akin to Middle Swedish kotta

Swedish dialectal kåta, kuta ("to cut or chip with a knife"), Swedish kuta, kytti ("a knife")}, Norwegian kutte ("to cut"), Icelandic kuta ("to cut with a knife"), Old Norse kuti ("small knife"), Norwegian kyttel, kytel, kjutul ("pointed slip of wood used to strip bark").

Adjective

1. (participial adjective) Having been cut.
2. Reduced.The pitcher threw a cut fastball that was slower than his usual pitch.Cut brandy is a liquor made of brandy and hard grain liquor.
3. (of a gem) Carved into a shape; not raw.
4. (cricket, of a shot) Played with a horizontal bat to hit the ball backward of point.
5. (bodybuilding) Having muscular definition in which individual groups of muscle fibers stand out among larger muscles.
• 1988, Steve Holman, "Christian Conquers Columbus", Iron Man (magazine) 47 (6): 28-34.Or how 'bout Shane DiMora? Could he possibly get rip-roaring cut this time around?
• 2010, Bill Geiger, "6-pack Abs in 9 Weeks", Reps! 17:106That's the premise of the overload principle, and it must be applied, even to ab training, if you're going to develop a cut, ripped midsection.
6. (informal) Circumcised.
7. (Australia, NZ, slang) Emotionally hurt.
8. Eliminated from consideration during a recruitment drive.
9. Removed from a team roster.
10. (slang, dated) drunk; tipsy
11. (NZ) Intoxicated as a result of drugs or alcohol.

Synonyms

• snithe

Derived terms

Full definition of cut

Noun

1. An opening resulting from cutting.Look at this cut on my finger!
2. The act of cutting.He made a fine cut with his sword.
3. The result of cutting.a smooth or clear cut
4. A notch, passage, or channel made by cutting or digging; a furrow; a groove.a cut for a railroad
• KnollesThis great cut or ditch Secostris ... purposed to have made a great deal wider and deeper.
5. A share or portion.The lawyer took a cut of the profits.
6. (cricket) A batsman's shot played with a swinging motion of the bat, to hit the ball backward of point.
7. (cricket) Sideways movement of the ball through the air caused by a fast bowler imparting spin to the ball.
8. The act or right of dividing a deck of playing cards.The player next to the dealer makes a cut by placing the bottom half on top.
9. The manner or style a garment etc. is fashioned in.I like the cut of that suit.
• Shakespearewith eyes severe and beard of formal cut
10. A slab, especially of meat.That’s our finest cut of meat.
11. (fencing) An attack made with a chopping motion of the blade, landing with its edge or point.
12. A deliberate snub, typically a refusal to return a bow or other acknowledgement of acquaintance.
• Washington IrvingRip called him by name, but the cur snarled, snapped his teeth, and passed on. This was an unkind cut indeed.
13. A definable part, such as an individual song, of a recording, particularly of commercial records, audio tapes, CDs, etc.The drummer on the last cut of their CD is not identified.
14. (archaeology) A truncation, a context that represents a moment in time when other archaeological deposits were removed for the creation of some feature such as a ditch or pit.
15. A haircut.
16. (graph theory) the partition of a graph’s vertices into two subgroups
17. A string of railway cars coupled together.
18. An engraved block or plate; the impression from such an engraving.a book illustrated with fine cuts
19. (obsolete) A common workhorse; a gelding.
• Beaumont and FletcherHe'll buy me a cut, forth for to ride.
20. (slang, dated) The failure of a college officer or student to be present at any appointed exercise.
21. A skein of yarn.

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
1. To perform an incision on, for example with a knife.
• ShakespeareYou must cut this flesh from off his breast.
2. To divide with a knife, scissors, or another sharp instrument.
   Would you please cut the cake?
• Alexander PopeBefore the whistling winds the vessels fly,
  With rapid swiftness cut the liquid way.
3. To form or shape by cutting.
   I have three diamonds to cut today.
• ShakespeareWhy should a man, whose blood is warm within,
  Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster?
• Miltonloopholes cut through thickest shade
4. To wound with a knife.
• 1990, Stephen Dobyns, The house on AlexandrineWe don't want your money no more. We just going to cut you.
5. To deliver a stroke with a whip to.
6. To wound or hurt deeply the sensibilities of; to pierce.Sarcasm cuts to the quick.
• AddisonThe man was cut to the heart.
7. To castrate or geld.to cut a horse
8. To interfere, as a horse; to strike one foot against the opposite foot or ankle in using the legs.
9. (intransitive) To admit of incision or severance; to yield to a cutting instrument.
• 1858, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, The Deacon's Masterpiece, in Chapter XIThe panels of white-wood that cuts like cheese,
  But lasts like iron for things like these;
10. (transitive, social) To separate, remove, reject or reduce.
1. To separate from prior association; to remove a portion of a recording during editing.
   Travis was cut from the team.
2. To reduce, especially intentionally.
   They're going to cut salaries by fifteen percent.
• 2013-05-17, George Monbiot, Money just makes the rich suffer, In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. The welfare state is dismantled. Essential public services are cut so that the rich may pay less tax. …
3. To absent oneself from (a class, an appointment, etc.).
   I cut fifth period to hang out with Angela.
• Thomas HamiltonAn English tradesman is always solicitous to cut the shop whenever he can do so with impunity.
4. To ignore as a social snub.
   After the incident at the dinner party, people started to cut him on the street.
5. (intransitive, cinema, audio, usually as imperative) To cease recording activities.
   After the actors read their lines, the director yelled "Cut!"
6. (transitive, computing) To remove and place in memory for later use.
   Select the text, cut it, and then paste it in the other application.
7. (intransitive) To enter a queue in the wrong place.
   One student kept trying to cut in front of the line.
8. (intransitive) To intersect or cross in such a way as to divide in half or nearly so.
   This road cuts right through downtown.
• 2011, January 18, Daniel Taylor, Manchester City 4 Leicester City 2, Leicester's response was swift although the referee, Mark Halsey, was generous in the extreme when he awarded the penalty from which Paul Gallagher made it 1-1. Neither Joleon Lescott nor Vieira appeared to make any contact with Dyer as he cut between them.
• 2013-08-16, John Vidal, Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas, Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.
9. (transitive, cricket) To make the ball spin sideways by running one's fingers down the side of the ball while bowling it.
10. (intransitive) To change direction suddenly.
    The football player cut to his left to evade a tackle.
11. (transitive, intransitive) To divide a pack of playing cards into two.
    If you cut then I'll deal.
12. (transitive, slang) To write.
    cut orders;   cut a check
13. (transitive, slang) To dilute a liquid, usually alcohol.
    The bartender cuts his beer to save money and now it's all watery.
14. (transitive) To exhibit (a quality).
• 2011, January 25, Paul Fletcher, Arsenal 3-0 Ipswich (agg. 3-1), Arsenal were starting to work up a head of steam and Tractor Boys boss Paul Jewell cut an increasingly frustrated figure on the touchline.
15. (transitive) To stop or disengage.
    Cut the engines when the plane comes to a halt!

Synonyms

• See

Troponyms

• chop, hack, slice, trim

Derived terms

Anagrams

• UTC