- cut
- [[t]kʌ̱t[/t]]
♦cuts, cutting(The form cut is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle.)1) VERB If you cut something, you use a knife or a similar tool to divide it into pieces, or to mark it or damage it. If you cut a shape or a hole in something, you make the shape or hole by using a knife or similar tool.
[V n] Mrs. Haines stood nearby, holding scissors to cut a ribbon...
[V n prep/adv] Cut the tomatoes in half vertically...
[V n prep/adv] The thieves cut a hole in the fence...
[V n n] Mr. Long was now cutting himself a piece of the pink cake...
[V through n] You can hear the saw as it cuts through the bones.
[V-ed] ...thinly cut cucumber sandwiches.
N-COUNTCut is also a noun.The operation involves making several cuts in the cornea.
2) VERB If you cut yourself or cut a part of your body, you accidentally injure yourself on a sharp object so that you bleed.[V pron-refl] Johnson cut himself shaving...
[V n] I started to cry because I cut my finger...
[V n] Zoe was badly cut as she scrambled down rocks to reach him...
[V-ed] Blood from his cut lip trickled over his chin.
N-COUNTCut is also a noun.He had sustained a cut on his left eyebrow. ...cuts and bruises.
3) VERB If you cut something such as grass, your hair, or your fingernails, you shorten them using scissors or another tool.[V n] The most recent tenants hadn't even cut the grass...
[V n] You have to learn not to cut your toenails in the living room...
[have n V-ed] You've had your hair cut, it looks great...
[V-ed] She had dark red hair, cut short.
N-SINGCut is also a noun.Prices vary from salon to salon, starting at ₤17 for a cut and blow-dry.
4) VERB: usu passive The way that clothes are cut is the way they are designed and made.[V-ed] ...badly cut blue suits.
5) VERB To cut through something means to move or pass through it easily.[V through n] I could see long canoes cutting through the waves.
6) VERB If you cut across or through a place, you go through it because it is the shortest route to another place.→ See also short cut[V across/through n] He decided to cut across the Heath, through Greenwich Park.
7) VERB If you cut something, you reduce it.[V n] The first priority is to cut costs...
[V n by amount] The UN force is to be cut by 90%.
[V amount from/off n] ...a deal to cut 50 billion dollars from the federal deficit.
Syn:Cut is also a noun.The economy needs an immediate 2 per cent cut in interest rates. ...the government's plans for tax cuts.
Cut down means the same as cut.V P n (not pron)
We'd like politicians to get together and agree ways to cut down atmospheric pollution... Also V n P V n P to n We've cut it down to just five years.8) VERB If you cut a text, broadcast, or performance, you shorten it. If you cut a part of a text, broadcast, or performance, you do not publish, broadcast, or perform that part.[V n] Branagh has cut the play judiciously...
[V n] The audience wants more music and less drama, so we've cut some scenes.
N-COUNTCut is also a noun.It has been found necessary to make some cuts in the text.
9) VERB To cut a supply of something means to stop providing it or stop it being provided.[V n] They used pressure tactics to force them to return, including cutting food and water supplies.
Cut is also a noun.The strike had already led to cuts in electricity and water supplies in many areas.
10) VERB If you cut a pack of playing cards, you divide it into two.[V n] Place the cards face down on the table and cut them.
11) CONVENTION When the director of a film says `cut', they want the actors and the camera crew to stop filming.12) VERB When a singer or band cuts a record, they make a recording of their music.[V n] She eventually cut her own album.
13) VERB When a child cuts a tooth, a new tooth starts to grow through the gum.[V n] Many infants do not cut their first tooth until they are a year old.
14) VERB If a child cuts classes or cuts school, they do not go to classes or to school when they are supposed to. [mainly AM][V n] Cutting school more than once in three months is a sign of trouble.
Syn:15) VERB (feelings) If you tell someone to cut something, you are telling them in an irritated way to stop it. [AM, INFORMAL][V n] `Cut the euphemisms, Daniel,' Brenda snapped...
[V n] Why don't you just cut the crap and open the door.
16) N-COUNT: with supp A cut of meat is a piece or type of meat which is cut in a particular way from the animal, or from a particular part of it.Use a cheap cut such as spare rib chops.
17) N-SING: oft poss N Someone's cut of the profits or winnings from something, especially ones that have been obtained dishonestly, is their share. [INFORMAL]The lawyers, of course, take their cut of the little guy's winnings.
Syn:18) N-COUNT A cut is a narrow valley which has been cut through a hill so that a road or railroad track can pass through. [AM](in BRIT, use cutting)19) → See also cutting20) PHRASE: v-link PHR n If you say that someone or something is a cut above other people or things of the same kind, you mean they are better than them. [INFORMAL]Joan Smith's detective stories are a cut above the rest.
21) PHRASE: V inflects If you see someone you know and cut them dead, you ignore them.22) PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR n If you say that a situation or solution is cut and dried, you mean that it is clear and definite.Unfortunately, things cannot be as cut and dried as many people would like...
We are aiming for guidelines, not cut-and-dried answers.
Syn:23) PHRASE: V inflects If a person or an organization cuts loose or is cut loose, they become free from the influence or authority of other people.He's cut loose from this business except, possibly, where James is concerned...
It's about to be cut loose from the state on which it has so long depended.
24) PHRASE: Vs inflect (disapproval) If someone cuts and runs in a difficult situation, they try to escape from it quickly and gain an advantage for themselves, rather than deal with the situation in a responsible way. [INFORMAL]...his cowardly decision to cut and run.
25) PHRASE: usu with broad neg If you say that someone can't cut it, you mean that they do not have the qualities needed to do a task or cope with a situation. [INFORMAL]He doesn't think English-born players can cut it abroad.
26) PHRASE If you talk about the cut and thrust of an activity, you are talking about the aspects of it that make it exciting and challenging....cut-and-thrust debate between two declared adversaries.
27) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that something cuts both ways, you mean that it can have two opposite effects, or can have both good and bad effects.This publicity cuts both ways. It focuses on us as well as on them.
Phrasal Verbs:- cut back- cut down- cut in- cut off- cut out- cut up
English dictionary. 2008.
