cut mark

Meanings

1. 1nouncountabletechnical

   A mark made by a sharp tool or object, especially one used in archaeology to identify a place or in surveying to show a level.

   Grammar: Countable; use 'a cut mark' or 'cut marks' when talking about one or more marks.

   Patterns

   • a cut mark on something
   • leave a cut mark
   • cut marks on a bone

   The archaeologists found cut marks on the animal bones, showing where stone tools had been used.

   Surveyors often leave a cut mark on a wall or rock to mark a known height.

   The old wooden beam had cut marks from years of being measured and worked on.

2. 2nouncountable

   A visible line or notch left on a surface after it has been cut.

   Grammar: Countable and often used in the plural 'cut marks' when there are several.

   Patterns

   • cut marks on a surface
   • show cut marks
   • deep cut marks

   There were deep cut marks on the table where someone had used a knife without a board.

   The police examined the cut marks on the window frame to see what tool was used.

   You can still see the cut marks on the stone from when it was shaped by hand.

Word forms

Common combinations

leave a cut mark

Be careful with that knife; it will leave a cut mark on the counter.

cut marks on a bone

The cut marks on the bone suggest the meat was removed with a sharp tool.

deep cut mark

There was a deep cut mark across the top of the desk.

Synonyms and how they differ

notch

A notch is a small V-shaped cut made deliberately, often for fitting things together; a cut mark is just the visible result of a cut.

scratch

A scratch is a thin, shallow mark made by something sharp; a cut mark usually suggests a deeper or more deliberate cut.

Word family

cut verb

To make an opening or wound with a sharp tool.

mark noun

A small area or line that is different from the surface around it.

Practice

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