Meaning & use
cut
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To divide, separate or remove something using a sharp tool.
Grammar: Takes an object: cut the bread; or has no object when describing a tool: the knife cuts well.
Patterns
- cut something with something
- cut something into something
- cut something from something
Please cut the cake into eight slices.
He cut a branch from the tree with a saw.
This scissors cuts paper easily.
verbtransitive
To injure yourself or someone else by breaking the skin with something sharp.
Grammar: Often with a body part or a reflexive: cut your finger, cut yourself.
Patterns
- cut yourself on something
- cut your finger
She cut her finger on broken glass.
I cut myself while shaving.
He cut his knee when he fell off his bike.
verbtransitive
To make something smaller or lower in size, amount or price.
Grammar: Takes an object such as costs, jobs or taxes: cut costs.
Patterns
- cut something by something
- cut back on something
The company cut its prices by ten percent.
The mayor plans to cut taxes next year.
They cut the budget for the arts.
verbtransitive
To remove part of a text, film or recording, or to edit it.
Grammar: Takes an object, often with a reason: cut a scene.
Patterns
- cut something from something
The editor cut the final chapter from the book.
They cut the scene to keep the film under two hours.
Can you cut this paragraph to fit the page?
verbtransitive
To trim, shorten or shape something, such as hair, grass or a gem.
Grammar: Takes an object: cut the lawn, cut your hair.
Patterns
- get your hair cut
- cut the grass
She had her hair cut before the wedding.
He cut the grass on Saturday morning.
The jeweler cut the diamond into a perfect shape.
nouncountable
An opening or wound made by something sharp, or a reduction in an amount.
Grammar: Countable: a cut on his hand, a cut in spending.
Patterns
- a cut in something
- a cut on something
He had a small cut on his thumb.
The council announced a cut in funding.
The director's cut of the film is longer.
Word forms
| third person singular | cuts |
|---|---|
| past tense | cut |
| past participle | cut |
| -ing form | cutting |
Common combinations
- cut costs
- The firm wants to cut costs without losing staff.
- cut your hair
- She cut her hair short for the summer.
- cut in half
- Cut the sandwich in half.
- cut back on
- I am cutting back on sugar.
- cut a deal
- They cut a deal to share the profits.
- cut short
- The storm cut our holiday short.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slice
- Slice means cutting into thin, flat pieces and is mainly used for food.
- chop
- Chop suggests cutting into pieces with heavy, quick blows, often with an axe or a knife.
- reduce
- Reduce is a formal choice when making amounts smaller and sounds less abrupt than cut.
- trim
- Trim means cutting off small parts to make something neat, which is gentler than cut.
Opposites
Word family
- cutter noun
- a tool or person that cuts
- cutting noun
- a piece cut from a plant, or a newspaper clipping
- cutback noun
- a reduction in spending
- cutlery noun
- knives, forks and spoons
- cutting-edge adjective
- very modern and advanced
Commonly confused: cut or cute? cut or cut vs. cutted?
cut vs cute
Cute describes something charming or sweet, whereas cut is about dividing or reducing.
cut vs cut vs. cutted
Cut is irregular, and cutted does not exist; the past tense is cut.
Practice
What is the past tense of 'cut'?
Choose one answer.
Cut is an irregular verb with the same form for present, past and past participle. The other options are not real forms.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cut”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.