̈ɪkʌt v. & n. --v. (cutting;
past and past
part. cut) 1 tr. (also absol.)
penetrate or wound
with a sharp-edged
instrument (cut
his finger;
the knife won't cut). 2 tr. & intr. (often foll. by into)
divide or be divided with a knife etc. (cut the
bread; cut the
cloth into metre lengths). 3 tr. a
trim or
reduce the
length of (hair, a
hedge, etc.) by
cutting. b
detach all or the
significant part of (flowers, corn, etc.) by cutting. 4 tr. (foll. by
loose,
open, etc.)
make loose, open, etc. by cutting. 5 tr. (esp. as cutting adj.)
cause sharp physical or
mental pain to (a cutting
remark; a cutting wind;
was cut to the quick). 6 tr. (often foll. by down) a reduce (wages, prices,
time, etc.). b reduce or
cease (services etc.). 7 tr. a
shape or
fashion (a
coat,
gem, key,
record, etc.) by cutting. b make (a
path,
tunnel, etc.) by removing
material. 8 tr.
perform,
execute, make (cut a caper; cut a
sorry figure). 9 tr. (also absol.)
cross,
intersect (the line cuts the
circle at
two points; the two lines cut). 10 intr. (foll. by
across,
through, etc.) pass or
traverse,
esp. in a
hurry or as a shorter
way (cut across the grass). 11 tr. a
ignore or refuse to
recognize (a person). b
renounce (a connection). 12 tr. esp. US deliberately
fail to
attend (a
class etc.). 13 Cards a tr. divide (a pack) into two parts. b intr.
select a
dealer etc. by dividing the pack. 14 Cinematog. a tr.
edit (a
film or tape). b intr. (often in imper.)
stop filming or
recording. c intr. (foll. by to) go quickly to (another shot). 15 tr.
switch off (an
engine etc.). 16 tr. a
hit (a ball) with a chopping
motion. b
Golf slice (the ball). 17 tr. US
dilute,
adulterate. 18 tr. (as cut adj.)
Brit. sl.
drunk. 19 intr. Cricket (of the ball)
turn sharply on pitching. 20 intr. sl.
run. 21 tr.
castrate. --n. 1 an
act of cutting. 2 a
division or wound
made by cutting. 3 a
stroke with a knife,
sword,
whip, etc. 4 a a
reduction (in prices, wages, etc.). b a
cessation (of a
power supply etc.). 5 an excision of part of a
play, film,
book, etc. 6 a wounding remark or act. 7 the way or
style in
which a
garment, the
hair,
etc., is cut. 8 a
piece of
meat etc. cut
from a
carcass. 9 colloq.
commission; a share of profits. 10
Tennis & Cricket etc. a stroke made by cutting. 11 ignoring of or
refusal to recognize a
person. 12 a an engraved
block for printing. b =
WOODCUT. 13 a
railway cutting. 14 a
new channel made for a
river. øa cut
above colloq. noticeably
superior to. be cut
out (foll. by for, or to + infin.) be suited (was
not cut out to be a teacher). cut across 1
transcend or
take no
account of (normal limitations etc.) (their
concern cuts across
normal rivalries). 2 see
sense 10 of v. cut-and-come-again
abundance. cut and
dried 1 completely
decided; prearranged;
inflexible. 2 (of opinions etc.) ready-made,
lacking freshness. cut and run sl. run
away. cut and
thrust 1 a
lively interchange of
argument etc. 2 the
use of
both the
edge and the
point of a sword. cut
back 1 reduce (expenditure etc.). 2 prune (a
tree etc.). 3 Cinematog.
repeat part of a
previous scene for
dramatic effect. cut-back n. an
instance or the act of cutting back, esp. a reduction in
expenditure. cut both ways 1
serve both sides of an argument etc. 2 (of an action)
have both
good and
bad effects. cut one's coat
according to one's cloth 1
adapt expenditure to resources. 2
limit ambition to
what is
feasible. cut a
corner go across and not
round it. cut corners do a
task etc. perfunctorily or incompletely, esp. to save time. cut a
dash see DASH. cut
dead completely refuse to recognize (a person). cut down 1 a
bring or
throw down by cutting. b
kill by
means of a sword or
disease. 2 see sense 6 of v. 3 reduce the length of (cut down the
trousers to make shorts). 4 (often foll. by on) reduce one's
consumption (tried to cut down on beer). cut a person down to size colloq. ruthlessly
expose the limitations of a person's
importance,
ability, etc. cut one's eye-teeth
attain worldly wisdom. cut
glass glass with patterns and designs cut on it. cut in 1
interrupt. 2
pull in
too closely in
front of
another vehicle (esp. having overtaken it). 3
give a share of profits etc. to (a person). 4
connect (a
source of electricity). 5
join in a card-game by
taking the
place of a
player who cuts out. 6 interrupt a dancing
couple to take
over from
one partner. cut into 1 make a cut in (they cut into the cake). 2
interfere with and reduce (travelling cuts into my
free time). cut it fine see
FINE(1). cut it out (usu. in imper.) sl. stop
doing that (esp. quarrelling). cut the knot
solve a
problem in an
irregular but
efficient way. cut-line 1 a
caption to an
illustration. 2 the line in squash above which a served ball must
strike the
wall. cut loose 1
begin to act freely. 2 see sense 4 of v. cut one's losses (or a loss)
abandon an
unprofitable enterprise before losses
become too
great. cut the
mustard US sl.
reach the required
standard. cut no
ice sl. 1 have no
influence or importance. 2
achieve little or
nothing. cut off 1
remove (an appendage) by cutting. 2 a (often in passive) bring to an
abrupt end or (esp. early)
death. b
intercept, interrupt;
prevent from continuing (cut off supplies; cut off the gas). c
disconnect (a person
engaged in a
telephone conversation) (was suddenly cut off). 3 a prevent from travelling or venturing out (was cut off by the snow). b (as cut off adj.)
isolated,
remote (felt cut off in the country). 4
disinherit (was cut off
without a penny). cut-off n. 1 the point at which
something is cut off. 2 a
device for
stopping a
flow. 3 US a
short cut. cut out 1 remove from the
inside by cutting. 2 make by cutting from a larger
whole. 3
omit; leave out. 4 colloq. stop doing or using (something) (managed to cut out
chocolate; let's cut out the arguing). 5 cease or cause to cease functioning (the engine cut out). 6
outdo or
supplant (a rival). 7 US detach (an animal) from the
herd. 8 Cards be excluded from a card-game as a
result of cutting the pack. cut-out 1 a
figure cut out of
paper etc. 2 a device for
automatic disconnection, the
release of
exhaust gases, etc. cut-out box US = fuse-box (see FUSE(1)). cut-price (or -rate) selling or
sold at a reduced
price. cut short 1 interrupt;
terminate prematurely (cut short his visit). 2 make shorter or
more concise. cut one's
teeth on
acquire initial practice or
experience from (something). cut a
tooth have it
appear through the gum. cut up 1 cut into pieces. 2
destroy utterly. 3 (usu. in passive)
distress greatly (was
very cut up
about it). 4
criticize severely. 5 US
behave in a
comical or
unruly manner. cut up
rough Brit. sl.
show anger or
resentment. cut up well sl.
bequeath a
large fortune. have one's
work cut out see WORK. [ME cutte, kitte, kette, perh. f. OE cyttan (unrecorded)]