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5.21
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cut verb [ kʌt ]

• make an opening, incision, or wound in (something) with a sharp-edged tool or object.
• "he cut his toe on a sharp stone"
Similar: gash, slash, lacerate, slit, pierce, penetrate, wound, injure, scratch, graze, nick, snick, notch, incise, score, lance,
• divide into pieces with a knife or other sharp implement.
• "cut the beef into thin slices"
Similar: chop, cut up, slice, dice, cube, mince, carve, divide, hash,
• make or form (something) by using a sharp tool to remove material.
• "workmen cut a hole in the pipe"
• trim or reduce the length of (grass, hair, etc.) by using a sharp implement.
• "Ted was cutting the lawn"
Similar: trim, snip, clip, crop, bob, barber, shear, shave, pare, prune, pollard, poll, lop, dock, mow,
• reduce the size, amount, or quantity of.
• "buyers will bargain hard to cut the cost of the house they want"
Similar: reduce, cut back/down on, decrease, lessen, retrench, diminish, trim, prune, slim down, ease up on, rationalize, downsize, slenderize, economize on, mark down, discount, lower, slash, axe,
Opposite: increase,
• end or interrupt the provision of (a supply).
• "we resolved to cut oil supplies to territories controlled by the rebels"
Similar: discontinue, break off, suspend, interrupt, stop, end, put an end to,
Opposite: restore,
• (of a line) cross or intersect (another line).
• "mark the point where the line cuts the vertical axis"
Similar: cross, intersect, bisect, meet, join, decussate,
Opposite: diverge,
• stop filming or recording.
• "‘Cut’ shouted a voice, followed by ‘Could we do it again, please?’"
• mix (an illegal drug) with another substance.
• "dealers cut the drugs to stretch their supply"
• strike or kick (a ball) with an abrupt, typically downward motion.
• "Cook cut the ball back to him"
• divide a pack of playing cards by lifting a portion from the top, either to reveal a card at random or to place the top portion under the bottom portion.
• "let's cut for dealer"
• ignore or refuse to recognize (someone).
• "they cut her in public"
Similar: snub, ignore, shun, give someone the cold shoulder, cold-shoulder, turn one's back on, cut dead, look right through, pretend not to see, rebuff, spurn, ostracize, send to Coventry, give someone the brush-off, freeze out, stiff-arm, give someone the bum's rush, give someone the brush, snout, give someone the go-by,

cut noun

• a stroke or blow given by a sharp-edged implement or by a whip or cane.
• "he could skin an animal with a single cut of the knife"
Similar: blow, slash, stroke, swipe,
• a long, narrow incision in the skin made by something sharp.
• "blood ran from a cut on his jaw"
Similar: gash, slash, laceration, incision, slit, wound, injury, scratch, graze, nick, snick,
• a wounding remark or act.
• "his unkindest cut at Elizabeth was to call her heartless"
Similar: insult, slight, affront, slap in the face, jibe, barb, cutting remark, shaft, put-down, dig, brush-off,
• the way or style in which something, especially a garment or someone's hair, is cut.
• "the elegant cut of his dinner jacket"
Similar: style, design, tailoring, lines, fit,
Origin: Middle English (probably existing, although not recorded, in Old English); probably of Germanic origin and related to Norwegian kutte and Icelandic kuta ‘cut with a small knife’, kuti ‘small blunt knife’.

be cut out for

• have exactly the right qualities for a particular role or job.
"not everyone is cut out for dealing with customers"

a cut above

• noticeably superior to.
"she's a cut above the rest"

cut and dried

• (of a situation) completely settled.
"the championship is not as cut and dried as everyone thinks"

cut and run

• make a speedy departure from a difficult situation rather than deal with it.
"he laughed off suggestions he is ready to cut and run from struggling United"

cut and thrust

• a lively and competitive atmosphere or environment.
"the cut and thrust of political debate"

cut both ways

• (of a point or statement) serve both sides of an argument.
"such a tax is often claimed to encourage saving but the argument can cut both ways"

cut the corner

• take the shortest course by going across and not around a corner.

cut corners

• do something perfunctorily so as to save time or money.
"there is always a temptation to cut corners when time is short"

cut the crap

• get to the point; state the real situation.

cut a dash

• be stylish or impressive in one's dress or behaviour.
"the foreign secretary wanted to cut a dash in Brussels"

cut someone dead

• completely ignore someone.
"where he used to cut them dead, he now helps them on with their coats"

cut someone down to size

• deflate someone's exaggerated sense of self-worth.

cut something down to size

• reduce the size or power of something, for example an organization, which is regarded as having become too large or powerful.
"the government clearly plans to cut councils down to size"

cut a — figure

• present oneself or appear in a particular way.
"David has cut a dashing figure on the international social scene"

cut from the same cloth

• of the same nature; similar.
"don't assume all women are cut from the same cloth"

cut in line

• jump the queue.

cut it

• come up to expectations; meet requirements.
"this CD player doesn't quite cut it"

cut it out

• used to ask someone to stop doing or saying something that is annoying or offensive.
"I'm sick of that joke; cut it out, can't you?"

cut loose

• distance or free oneself from a person, group, or system.
"he was a young teenager, already cutting loose from his family"

cut someone or something loose

• free someone or something from something which holds or restricts them.
"he'd cut loose the horses"

cut one's losses

• abandon an enterprise or course of action that is clearly going to be unprofitable or unsuccessful before one suffers more loss or harm.
"an inner voice was urging her to cut her losses and go back to England"

cut the mustard

• come up to expectations; reach the required standard.
"I didn't cut the mustard as a hockey player"

cut no ice

• have no influence or effect.
"your holier-than-thou attitude cuts no ice with me"

cut someone down in their prime

• bring someone's life or career to an abrupt end while they are at the peak of their abilities.
"she was too young to die: she had been cut down in her prime"

cut someone or something short

• interrupt someone or something; bring an abrupt or premature end to something said or done.
"Peter cut him short rudely"

cut someone to pieces

• kill or severely injure someone.
"I was nearly cut to pieces by shrapnel"

cut a rug

• dance, especially in an energetic or accomplished way.
"a place where a fella and a gal can cut a rug"

cut one's teeth

• acquire initial practice or experience of a particular sphere of activity.
"the brothers cut their professional teeth at Lusardi's before starting their own restaurant"

cut a tooth

• (of a baby) have a tooth appear through the gum.
"a feast to celebrate a son cutting his first tooth"

cut to the chase

• come to the point.
"cut to the chase—what is it you want us to do?"

cut up rough

• behave in an aggressive, quarrelsome, or awkward way.
"he can cut up rough and turn a bit nasty if he's got a mind to"

cut up well

• bequeath a large fortune.
"the old banker died and cut up prodigiously well"

cut your coat according to your cloth

• undertake only what you have the money or ability to do and no more.

make the cut

• equal or better a required score, thus avoiding elimination from the last two rounds of a four-round tournament.
"she shot rounds of 86 and 86 and failed to make the cut"

miss the cut

• fail to equal or better a required score, thus being eliminated from the last two rounds of a four-round tournament.
"bad driving made him miss the cut by nine strokes"

cut across

• have an effect regardless of divisions or boundaries between groups.
"these subcultures cut across national and political boundaries"

cut along

• leave or move hurriedly.
"you can cut along now"

cut back

• reduce the amount or quantity of something, especially expenditure.
"they've cut back on costs"

cut down

• cause something to fall by cutting it through at the base.
"some 24 hectares of trees were cut down"

cut in

• (of a motor or other mechanical device) begin operating, especially when triggered automatically by an electrical signal.
"seconds later the emergency generators cut in"

cut into

• reduce the amount or quantity of something that is available.
"the paper shortage cuts into profits"

cut off

• remove something using a sharp implement.
"once the loaf is out of the oven, it's very tempting to cut off a piece to try"

cut out

• remove or make something by separating it from something larger with a sharp implement.
"she cut his photograph out of the paper"

cut up

• divide something into pieces with a sharp implement.
"I sat in the kitchen and peeled and cut up potatoes"

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