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verb (used with object), cut, cut·ting.
  9. to lower, reduce, diminish, or curtail (sometimes followed by down): to cut prices.
  10. to dilute; make less thick: to cut wine.
  11. to dissolve: That detergent cuts grease effectively.
  12. to intersect; cross: One line cuts another at right angles.
  15. to dilute or adulterate (a drug) by mixing it with other substances.
  17. to type, write, or draw on (a stencil) for mimeographing.
  19. Glassmaking. to produce a pattern (in glass) by grinding and polishing.
  21. to strike sharply, as with a whip.
  22. to absent oneself from: allowed to cut three classes per semester.
  23. Movies, Television.
    1. to stop (a scene or shot being filmed).
    2. to edit (a film).
  24. Computers. to remove (selected text, images, etc.) from a file to store in temporary memory until pasted elsewhere.Compare copy(def 15), paste(def 13).
  25. to wound the feelings of severely.
  26. Cards.
    2. to take (a card) from a deck.
  28. to castrate or geld.
  30. to hollow out; excavate; dig: to cut a trench.
  31. Cricket. to strike and send off (a ball) in front of the batsman, and parallel to the wicket.
verb (used without object), cut, cut·ting.
  2. to admit of being cut: Butter cuts easily.
  3. to repeatedly inflict self-injury by deliberately cutting the skin.
  4. to pass, go, or come, especially in the most direct way (usually followed by across, through, in, etc.): to cut across an empty lot.
  5. Movies, Television.
    1. to shift suddenly from one shot to another: Cut to the barroom interior.
  8. to wound the feelings severely: His criticism cut deep.
  9. (of the teeth) to grow through the gums.
  10. Computers. to remove selected text, images, etc., from a file for storage in temporary memory until pasted elsewhere.Compare copy(def 17), paste(def 14).
  11. Cards. to cut the cards.
  12. Informal. to leave hastily: to cut for the hills.
  13. (of a horse) to interfere.
  4. Botany. incised; cleft.
  5. castrated; gelded.
  6. Slang. drunk.
  4. Informal. a share, especially of earnings or profits: His agent's cut is 20 percent.
  5. a haircut, often with a styling.
  6. a reduction in price, salary, etc.
  10. an excision or omission of a part.
  11. a part or quantity of text deleted or omitted.
  12. a quantity cut, especially of lumber.
  13. a refusal to recognize an acquaintance.
  16. a printed picture or illustration.
  18. Butchering. part of an animal usually cut as one piece.
  19. Cards. a cutting of the cards.
  20. Sports.
    1. the act of cutting a ball.
    2. the spin imparted.
  21. Fencing. a blow with the edge of the blade instead of the tip.
  23. Movies, Television.
    2. an edited version of a film.Compare rough cut, final cut.
    3. an act or instance of editing a film.
  25. any product of the fractional distillation of petroleum.
Verb Phrases
  2. cut down,
    1. Also cut down on.to lessen; decrease: to cut down on between-meal snacks.
  3. cut in,
    2. to interpose; interrupt: to cut in with a remark.
    3. Informal.to interrupt a dancing couple in order to dance with one of them.
    4. to blend (shortening) into flour by means of a knife.
  4. cut off,
    1. to intercept.
    2. to interrupt.
    3. to stop suddenly; discontinue.
    4. to halt the operation of; turn off.
    5. to shut off or shut out.
    6. to disinherit.
    7. to sever; separate.
  5. cut out,
    1. to omit; delete; excise.
    2. to oust and replace a rival; supplant.
    3. to part an animal from a herd.
    4. to plan; arrange: He has his work cut out for him.
    5. to move out of one's lane of traffic.
    6. Also cut on out.Slang.to leave suddenly.
    7. Informal.to refrain from; stop: to cut out smoking.
    8. (of an engine, machine, etc.) to stop running.
  6. cut up,
    1. to cut into pieces or sections.
    2. to lacerate; wound.
    3. to distress mentally; injure.
    4. Informal.to play pranks; misbehave: They got scolded for cutting up in church.
  2. cut a caper/figure, to perform a spirited, brief, outlandish dance step, especially as a result of euphoria.
  3. cut a figure,
    1. cut a caper.
  4. cut and run,
    1. Nautical.to cut the anchor cable and set sail, as in an emergency.
    2. to leave as hurriedly as possible; flee.
  5. cut back,
    1. to shorten by cutting off the end.
    2. to curtail or discontinue: Steel production has been cut back in recent months.
    4. Football.to reverse direction suddenly by moving in the diagonally opposite course.
  8. cut it, Informal.
    2. to be effective or successful; satisfy a need.
  9. cut it out, Informal. to stop doing something: That hurts! Cut it out!
  10. cut no ice. ice(def 25).

Origin of cut

Related formshalf-cut, adjectivemis·cut, verb, mis·cut, mis·cut·ting.out·cut, verb (used with object), out·cut, out·cut·ting.re·cut, verb, re·cut, re·cut·ting.well-cut, adjective


See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
1. gash, slash, slit, lance. 2. cleave, sunder, bisect. 7. abbreviate, curtail.

Synonym study

British Dictionary definitions for cut it out


verb cuts, cutting or cut
  3. to divide or be divided with or as if with a sharp instrumentcut a slice of bread
  5. (tr) to trim or prune by or as if by clippingto cut hair
  7. (tr) to geld or castrate
  8. (tr sometimes foll by out) to make, form, or shape by cuttingto cut a suit
  9. (tr) to hollow or dig out; excavateto cut a tunnel through the mountain
  10. to strike (an object) sharply
  14. (tr) informal to refuse to recognize; snub
  15. (tr) informal to absent oneself from (an activity, location, etc), esp without permission or in hasteto cut class
  17. (tr often foll by down) to lower, reduce, or curtailto cut losses
  18. (tr) to dilute or weakenheroin that was cut with nontoxic elements
  19. (tr) to dissolve or break upto cut fat
  20. (when intr, foll by across or through) to cross or traversethe footpath cuts through the field
  23. (intr) films
    1. to call a halt to a shooting sequence
    2. (foll by to)to move quickly to another scene
  24. films to edit (film)
  27. cards
    1. to divide (the pack) at random into two parts after shuffling
  31. cut a caper or cut capers
    1. to skip or jump playfully
    2. to act or behave playfully; frolic
  32. cut both ways
    1. to have both good and bad effects
    2. to affect both sides of something, as two parties in an argument, etc
  34. cut a person dead informal to ignore a person completely
  35. cut a good figure to appear or behave well
  36. cut a poor figure to appear or behave badly
  37. cut and run informal to make a rapid escape
  38. cut it slang be successful in doing something
  39. cut it fine informal to allow little margin of time, space, etc
  40. cut corners to do something in the easiest or shortest way, esp at the expense of high standardswe could finish this project early only if we cut corners
  42. cut no ice informal to fail to make an impression
  44. cut one's teeth on informal
    1. to use at an early age or stage
    2. to practise on
  1. detached, divided, or separated by cutting
  2. botany incised or dividedcut leaves
  3. made, shaped, or fashioned by cutting
  4. reduced or diminished by or as if by cuttingcut prices
  5. gelded or castrated
  6. weakened or diluted
  7. British a slang word for drunk
  8. hurt; resentful
  9. cut and dried informal settled or arranged in advance
  10. cut lunch Australian and NZ a sandwich lunch carried from home to work, school, etc
  1. the act of cutting
  2. a stroke or incision made by cutting; gash
  3. a piece or part cut off, esp a section of food cut from the wholea cut of meat
  4. the edge of anything cut or sliced
  5. a passage, channel, path, etc, cut or hollowed out
  6. an omission or deletion, esp in a text, film, or play
  7. a reduction in price, salary, etc
  9. short for power cut
  10. mainly US and Canadian a quantity of timber cut during a specific time or operation
  11. informal a portion or share
  12. informal a straw, slip of paper, etc, used in drawing lots
    1. Irish informala person's general appearanceI didn't like the cut of him
    2. Irish derogatorya dirty or untidy conditionlook at the cut of your shoes
  14. a direct route; short cut
  15. the US name for block (def. 15)
  16. sport the spin of a cut ball
  17. cricket a stroke made with the bat in a roughly horizontal position
  19. informal an individual piece of music on a record; track
  20. words or an action that hurt another person's feelings
  21. a refusal to recognize an acquaintance; snub
  22. informal, mainly US an unauthorized absence, esp from a school class
  23. chem a fraction obtained in distillation, as in oil refining
  24. the metal removed in a single pass of a machine tool
    1. the shape of the teeth of a file
    2. their coarseness or fineness
  25. British a stretch of water, esp a canal
  26. a cut above informal superior (to); better (than)
  27. make the cut golf to better or equal the required score after two rounds in a strokeplay tournament, thus avoiding elimination from the final two rounds
  28. miss the cut golf to achieve a greater score after the first two rounds of a strokeplay tournament than that required to play in the remaining two rounds

Word Origin


Word Origin and History for cut it out



1520s, "gash, incision," from cut (v.); meaning "piece cut off" is from 1590s; sense of "a wounding sarcasm" is from 1560s.



late 13c., possibly Scandinavian, from North Germanic *kut- (cf. Swedish dialectal kuta "to cut," kuta "knife," Old Norse kuti "knife"), or from Old French couteau "knife." Replaced Old English ceorfan (see carve (v.)), sniþan, and scieran (see shear). Meaning "to be absent without excuse" is British university slang from 1794. To cut a pack of cards is from 1590s. Related: Cutting.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

cut it out in Medicine


  3. To make an incision or a separation.
  4. To have a new tooth grow through the gums.
  5. To form or shape by severing or incising.
  6. To separate from a body; detach.
  7. To lessen the strength of; dilute.
  1. The act of cutting.

Idioms and Phrases with cut it out

cut it out

Stop, desist, as in Cut it out, stop teasing your sister. [c. 1900] Also see cut it, def. 1.


In addition to the idioms beginning with cut

also see:
