Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Cut

Cut

(kŭt)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Cut
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Cutting
.]
[OE.
cutten
,
kitten
,
ketten
; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W.
cwtau
to shorten, curtail, dock,
cwta
bobtailed,
cwt
tail, skirt, Gael.
cutaich
to shorten, curtail, dock,
cutach
short, docked,
cut
a bobtail, piece, Ir.
cut
a short tail,
cutach
bobtailed. Cf.
Coot
.]
1.
To separate the parts of with, or as with, a sharp instrument; to make an incision in; to gash; to sever; to divide.
You must
cut
this flesh from off his breast.
Shakespeare
Before the whistling winds the vessels fly,
With rapid swiftness
cut
the liquid way.
Pope.
2.
To sever and cause to fall for the purpose of gathering; to hew; to mow or reap.
Thy servants can skill to
cut
timer.
2. Chron. ii. 8
3.
To sever and remove by cutting; to cut off; to dock;
as, to
cut
the hair; to
cut
the nails
.
4.
To castrate or geld;
as, to
cut
a horse
.
5.
To form or shape by cutting; to make by incision, hewing, etc.; to carve; to hew out.
Why should a man. whose blood is warm within,
Sit like his grandsire
cut
in alabaster?
Shakespeare
Loopholes
cut
through thickest shade.
Milton.
6.
To wound or hurt deeply the sensibilities of; to pierce; to lacerate;
as, sarcasm
cuts
to the quick
.
The man was
cut
to the heart.
Addison.
7.
To intersect; to cross;
as, one line
cuts
another at right angles
.
8.
To refuse to recognize; to ignore;
as, to
cut
a person in the street; to
cut
one’s acquaintance
.
[Colloq.]
9.
To absent one's self from;
as, to
cut
an appointment, a recitation
. etc.
[Colloq.]
An English tradesman is always solicitous to
cut
the shop whenever he can do so with impunity.
Thomas Hamilton.

Cut

(kŭt)
,
Verb.
I.
1.
To do the work of an edged tool; to serve in dividing or gashing;
as, a knife
cuts
well
.
2.
To admit of incision or severance; to yield to a cutting instrument.
Panels of white wood that
cuts
like cheese.
Holmes.
3.
To perform the operation of dividing, severing, incising, intersecting, etc.; to use a cutting instrument.
He saved the lives of thousands by his manner of
cutting
for the stone.
Pope.
4.
To make a stroke with a whip.
5.
To interfere, as a horse.
6.
To move or make off quickly.
[Colloq.]
7.
To divide a pack of cards into two portion to decide the deal or trump, or to change the order of the cards to be dealt.
To cut across
,
to pass over or through in the most direct way;
as, to
cut across
a field
.
–
To cut and run
,
to make off suddenly and quickly; – from the cutting of a ship's cable, when there is not time to raise the anchor.
[Colloq.]
–
To cut in
or
To cut into
,
to interrupt; to join in anything suddenly.
–
To cut up
.
(a)
To play pranks.
[Colloq.]
(b)
To divide into portions well or ill; to have the property left at one's death turn out well or poorly when divided among heirs, legatees, etc.
[Slang.]
“When I die, may I cut up as well as Morgan Pendennis.”
Thackeray.

Cut

,
Noun.
1.
An opening made with an edged instrument; a cleft; a gash; a slash; a wound made by cutting;
as, a sword
cut
.
2.
A stroke or blow or cutting motion with an edged instrument; a stroke or blow with a whip.
3.
That which wounds the feelings, as a harsh remark or criticism, or a sarcasm; personal discourtesy, as neglecting to recognize an acquaintance when meeting him; a slight.
Rip called him by name, but the cur snarled, snapped his teeth, and passed on. This was an unkind
cut
indeed.
W. Irving.
4.
A notch, passage, or channel made by cutting or digging; a furrow; a groove;
as, a
cut
for a railroad
.
This great
cut
or ditch Secostris . . . purposed to have made a great deal wider and deeper.
Knolles.
5.
The surface left by a cut;
as, a smooth or clear
cut
.
6.
A portion severed or cut off; a division;
as, a
cut
of beef; a
cut
of timber
.
It should be understood, moreover, . . . that the group are not arbitrary
cuts
, but natural groups or types.
Dana.
7.
An engraved block or plate; the impression from such an engraving;
as, a book illustrated with fine
cuts
.
8.
(a)
The act of dividing a pack cards.
(b)
The right to divide; as, whose cut is it?
9.
Manner in which a thing is cut or formed; shape; style; fashion;
as, the
cut
of a garment
.
With eyes severe and beard of formal
cut
.
Shakespeare
10.
A common work horse; a gelding.
[Obs.]
He'll buy me a
cut
, forth for to ride.
Beau. & Fl.
11.
The failure of a college officer or student to be present at any appointed exercise.
[College Cant]
12.
A skein of yarn.
Wright.
A cut in rates
(Railroad)
,
a reduction in fare, freight charges, etc., below the established rates.
–
A short cut
,
a cross route which shortens the way and cuts off a circuitous passage.
–
The cut of one's jib
,
the general appearance of a person.
[Colloq.]
–
To draw cuts
,
to draw lots, as of paper, etc., cut unequal lengths.

Now draweth
cut
. . .
The which that hath the shortest shall begin.
Chaucer.

Cut

(kŭt)
,
Adj.
1.
Gashed or divided, as by a cutting instrument.
2.
Formed or shaped as by cutting; carved.
3.
Overcome by liquor; tipsy.
[Slang]
Cut and dried
,
prepered beforehand; not spontaneous.
–
Cut glass
,
glass having a surface ground and polished in facets or figures.
–
Cut nail
,
a nail cut by machinery from a rolled plate of iron, in distinction from a wrought nail.
–
Cut stone
,
stone hewn or chiseled to shape after having been split from the quarry.

Webster 1828 Edition

Cut

CUT

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and prep. cut. [L., to thrust, to drive, to strike.]
1.
To separate the parts of any body by an edged instrument, either by striking, as with an ax, or by sawing or rubbing; to make a gash, incision or notch, which separates the external part of a body, as to cut the flesh. It signifies also, to cut into pieces; to sever or divide; as, to cut timber in the forest. But when an entire separation of the body is intended, it is usually followed by off, down, asunder, in two, in pieces, or other word denoting such severance.
Ye shall not cut yourselves, that is, ye shall not gash your flesh. Deuteronomy 14.
2.
To hew.
Thy servants can skill to cut timber. 2 Chronicles 2.
3.
To carve, as meat; to carve or engrave in sculpture.
4.
To divide; to cleave, by passing through; as, a ship cuts the briny deep.
5.
To penetrate; to pierce; to affect deeply; as, a sarcasm cuts to the quick.
6.
To divide, as a pack of cards; as, to cut and shuffle.
7.
To intersect; to cross. One line cuts another at right angles. The ecliptic cuts the equator.
8.
To castrate.
To cut across, to pass by a shorter course, so as to cut off an angle or distance.
To cut asunder, to cut into pieces; to divide; to sever.
He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked. Psalm 129.
To cut down, to fell; to cause to fall by severing.
Ye shall cut down their groves. Exodus 34.
Hence, to depress; to abash; to humble; to shame; to silence; as, his eloquence cuts down the finest orator.
[This phrase is not elegant, but is in popular use.]
To cut off,
1.
To separate one part from another; as, to cut off a finger, or an arm; to cut off the right hand figure; to cut off a letter or syllable.
2.
To destroy; to extirpate; to put to death untimely.
Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord. 1 Kings 18.
Evil doers shall be cut off. Psalm 37.
3.
To separate; to remove to a distance, or to prevent all intercourse. A man in another country or in prison is cut off from his country or his friends.
4.
To interrupt; as, to cut off communication.
5.
To separate; to remove; to take away; as, to cut off ten years of life.
6.
To intercept; to hinder from return, or union. The troops were cut off from the ships.
7.
To end; to finish; as, to cut off all controversy.
8.
To prevent or preclude; as, to cut off all occasion of blame.
9.
To preclude or shut out. The sinner cuts himself off from the benefits of Christianity.
10.
To stop, interrupt or silence.
The judge cut off the counsel very short.
To cut on,
1.
To hasten; to run or ride with the utmost speed; a vulgar phrase.
2.To urge or drive in striking; to quicken blows; to hasten.
To cut out,
1.
To remove a part by cutting or carving; as, to cut out a piece from a board; to cut out the tongue. Hence,
2.
To shape or form by cutting; as, to cut out a garment; to cut out an image; to cut out a wood into walks. Hence,
3.
To scheme; to contrive; to prepare; as, to cut out word for another day. So we say, to strike out.
4.
To shape; to adapt. He is no cut out for an author. [Not elegant.]
5.
To debar. [Not common.]
6.
To take the preference or precedence of; as, to cut out a prior judgment creditor.
7.
To step in and take the place of, as in courting and dancing. [A vulgar phrase.]
8.
To interfere as a horse, when the shoe of one foot beats off the skin of the pastern joint of another.
To cut short,
1.
To hinder from proceeding by sudden interruption.
Achilles cut him short.
2.
To shorten; to abridge; as, to cut short of provisions or pay; to cut the matter short.
To cut up,
1.
To cut in pieces; as, to cut up beef.
2.
To eradicate; to cut off; as, to cut up shrubs.

CUT

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To pass into or through and sever; to enter and divide the parts; as, an instrument cuts well.
2.
To be severed by a cutting instrument; as, this fruit cuts easy or smooth.
3.
To divide by passing.
The teeth are ready to cut.
4.
To perform a surgical operation by cutting, especially in lithotomy.
He saved lives by cutting for the stone.
5.
To interfere, as a horse.
To cut in, to divide, or turn a card, for determining who are to play.

CUT

,
pp.
Gashed; divided; hewn; carved; intersected; pierced; deeply affected; castrated.
Cut and dry, prepared for use; a metaphor from hewn timber.

CUT

,
Noun.
1.
The action of an edged instrument; a stroke or blow, as with an ax or sword.
2.
A cleft; a gash; a notch; a wound; the opening made by an edged instrument, distinguished by its length from that made by perforation with a pointed instrument.
3.
A stroke or blow with a whip.
4.
A channel made by cutting or digging; a ditch; a groove; a furrow; a canal.
5.
A part cut off from the rest; as a good cut of beef; a cut of timber. Also, any small piece or shred.
6.
A lot made by cutting a stick; as, to draw cuts.
7.
A near passage, by which an angle is cut off; a shorter cut.
8.
A picture cut or cared on wood or metal, and impressed from it.
9.
The stamp on which a picture is carved, and by which it is impressed.
10.
The act of dividing a pack of cards. Also, the right to divide; as, whose cut is it?
11.
Manner in which a thing is cut; form; shape; fashion; as the cut of a garment; the cut of his beard.
12.
A fool; a cully; a gelding. [Not in use.]
Cut and long tail, men of all kinds; a proverbial expression borrowed from dogs.

Definition 2024

cut

cut

See also: CUT, cút, cứt, čut, and cụt

English

Adjective

cut ‎(comparative more cut, superlative most cut)

  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. (Can we clean up(+) this sense?) (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", Ironman 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! 17:106
      That'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, New Zealand, slang) Emotionally hurt.
  8. Eliminated from consideration during a recruitment drive.
  9. Removed from a team roster.
  10. (New Zealand) Intoxicated as a result of drugs or alcohol.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

cut ‎(plural cuts)

A cut (graph theory sense) in a graph with five vertices, which partitioned it into two subgroups (one with white vertices and another with black vertices).
  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
    • Knolles
      This 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. (sports) In lawn tennis, etc., a slanting stroke causing the ball to spin and bound irregularly; also, the spin thus given to the ball.
  9. 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.
  10. The manner or style a garment etc. is fashioned in.
    I like the cut of that suit.
    • Shakespeare
      with eyes severe and beard of formal cut
  11. A slab, especially of meat.
    That’s our finest cut of meat.
  12. (fencing) An attack made with a chopping motion of the blade, landing with its edge or point.
  13. A deliberate snub, typically a refusal to return a bow or other acknowledgement of acquaintance.
    • Washington Irving
      Rip called him by name, but the cur snarled, snapped his teeth, and passed on. This was an unkind cut indeed.
  14. 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.
  15. (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.
  16. A haircut.
  17. (graph theory) The partition of a graph’s vertices into two subgroups.
  18. A string of railway cars coupled together.
  19. An engraved block or plate; the impression from such an engraving.
    a book illustrated with fine cuts
  20. (obsolete) A common workhorse; a gelding.
    • Beaumont and Fletcher
      He'll buy me a cut, forth for to ride.
  21. (slang, dated) The failure of a college officer or student to be present at any appointed exercise.
  22. A skein of yarn.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Wright to this entry?)

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

cut ‎(third-person singular simple present cuts, present participle cutting, simple past and past participle cut)

  1. (heading, transitive) To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
    1. To perform an incision on, for example with a knife.
    2. To divide with a knife, scissors, or another sharp instrument.
      Would you please cut the cake?‎
      • Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
        Before 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.‎
      • William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)
        Why should a man, whose blood is warm within, / Sit like his grandsire cut in alabaster?
      • John Milton (1608-1674)
        loopholes cut through thickest shade
    4. (slang) To wound with a knife.
      • 1990, Stephen Dobyns, The house on Alexandrine
        We don't want your money no more. We just going to cut you.
    5. (intransitive) To engage in self-harm by making cuts in one's own skin.
      The patient said she had been cutting since the age of thirteen.
    6. To deliver a stroke with a whip or like instrument to.
      • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 29686887 , chapter IV:
        “My Continental prominence is improving,” I commented dryly. ¶ Von Lindowe cut at a furze bush with his silver-mounted rattan. ¶ “Quite so,” he said as dryly, his hand at his mustache. “I may say if your intentions were known your life would not be worth a curse.”
    7. To wound or hurt deeply the sensibilities of; to pierce.
      Sarcasm cuts to the quick.‎
    8. To castrate or geld.
      to cut a horse‎
    9. To interfere, as a horse; to strike one foot against the opposite foot or ankle in using the legs.
  2. (intransitive) To admit of incision or severance; to yield to a cutting instrument.
  3. (transitive, heading, 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.‎
    3. To absent oneself from (a class, an appointment, etc.).
      I cut fifth period to hang out with Angela.‎
      • Thomas Hamilton (1789-1842)
        An 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.‎
  4. (intransitive, film, audio, usually as imperative) To cease recording activities.
    After the actors read their lines, the director yelled "Cut!"‎
  5. (transitive, computing) To remove and place in memory for later use.
    Select the text, cut it, and then paste it in the other application.‎
  6. (intransitive) To enter a queue in the wrong place.
    One student kept trying to cut in front of the line.‎
  7. (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”, in Guardian Online:
      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 August 16, John Vidal, “Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 10, page 8:
      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.
  8. (transitive, cricket) To make the ball spin sideways by running one's fingers down the side of the ball while bowling it. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
  9. (transitive, cricket) To deflect (a bowled ball) to the off, with a chopping movement of the bat.
  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)”, in BBC:
      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!‎
  16. (sports) To drive (a ball) to one side, as by (in billiards or croquet) hitting it fine with another ball, or (in tennis) striking it with the racket inclined.

Synonyms

  • See Wikisaurus:cut

Troponyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: real · eye · sun · #496: cut · everything · six · comes

Anagrams

Kiput

Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *likud, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *likud.

Noun

cut

  1. back (the rear of body)

Lojban

Rafsi

cut

  1. rafsi of cutne.

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /t͡sut/

Verb

cut

  1. supine of cuś

Welsh

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Borrowing from Middle English [Term?], from Old Northern French cot, cote ‎(“hut, cottage”).

Noun

cut m (plural cutiau)

  1. hut, shed; cottage, hovel; pen, coop; cage
Derived terms
  • cut ieir
  • cut moch

Etymology 2

Noun

cut m (plural cutiaid)

  1. Alternative form of cud ‎(“kite”)

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
cut gut nghut chut
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

Etymology

From Middle English cutten, kitten, kytten, ketten, ("to cut"; compare Scots kut, kit ‎(“to cut”)), from Proto-Germanic *kutjaną, *kuttaną ‎(“to cut”), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *kwetwą ("meat, flesh"; > Old Norse kvett ‎(“meat”)). Akin to Middle Swedish kotta ("to cut or carve with a knife"; > 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”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kʌt/
  • Rhymes: -ʌt

Similar Results