cut

I. verb (cut; cutting) Etymology: Middle English cutten Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. a. to penetrate with or as if with an edged instrument b. to hurt the feelings of c. to strike sharply with a cutting effect d. to strike (a ball) with a glancing blow that imparts a reverse spin e. to experience the growth of (a tooth) through the gum 2. a. trim, pare <

cut one's nails

> b. to shorten by omissions <

cut the manuscript

> c. dilute, adulterate <

cut the whiskey with water

> d. to reduce in amount <

cut costs

> 3. a. mow, reap <

cut hay

> b. (1) to divide into parts with an edged tool <

cut bread

> (2) fell, hew c. (1) to separate or discharge from an organization <

cut them from the team

> (2) to single out and isolate <

cut a calf out from the herd

> d. to turn (as a steering wheel) sharply <

the driver cut the wheel hard

> e. to go or pass around or about ; bypass <

cut the checkout line

> 4. a. to divide into segments <

cut the cake

> b. intersect, cross <

one line cutting another

> c. break, interrupt <

cut our supply lines

> d. (1) to divide (a deck of cards) into two portions (2) to draw (a card) from the deck e. to divide into shares ; split f. analyze, break down <

any way you cut it, we won

> 5. a. to make by or as if by cutting: as (1) carve <

cut stone

> (2) to shape by grinding <

cut a diamond

> (3) engrave (4) to shear or hollow out <

cut a groove

> b. (1) to sing, play, or act for the recording of <

cut an album

> <

cut a commercial

> (2) to sing or play (as a song or a track) for a studio recording c. to type on a stencil d. edit 1b <

cut a motion picture

> 6. a. stop, cease <

cut the nonsense

> b. to refuse to recognize (an acquaintance) <

they cut her dead at the party

> c. to absent oneself from (as a class) d. to stop (a motor) by opening a switch e. to stop the filming of (a motion-picture scene) 7. a. to engage in (a frolicsome or mischievous action) <

on summer nights strange capers are cut under the thin guise of a Christian festival — D. C. Peattie

> b. to give the appearance or impression of <

cut a fine figure

> 8. to be able to manage or handle — usually used in negative constructions <

can't cut that kind of work anymore

> 9. a. to yield or accord to another ; give <

cut me some slack

> b. to fill out and sign (a check) intransitive verb 1. a. to function as or as if as an edged tool b. to undergo incision or severance <

cheese cuts easily

> c. to perform the operation of dividing, severing, incising, or intersecting d. to make a stroke with a whip, sword, or other weapon e. to wound feelings or sensibilities f. to cause constriction or chafing g. to be of effect, influence, or significance <

an analysis that cuts deep

> 2. a. (1) to divide a pack of cards especially in order to decide the deal or settle a bet (2) to draw a card from the pack b. to divide spoils ; split 3. a. to proceed obliquely from a straight course <

cut across the yard

> b. to move swiftly <

a yacht cutting through the water

> c. to describe an oblique or diagonal line d. to change sharply in direction ; swerve e. to make an abrupt transition from one sound or image to another in motion pictures, radio, or television f. to make a sudden transition or imaginative leap <

the story cuts to 1917

> 4. to stop photographing motion pictures 5. to advance by skipping or bypassing another <

cut to the front of the line

> II. noun Date: 1530 1. a product of cutting: as a. (1) an opening made with an edged instrument (2) a wound made by something sharp ; gash b. a creek, channel, or inlet made by excavation or worn by natural action c. a surface or outline left by cutting d. a passage cut as a roadway e. a grade or step especially in a social scale <

a cut above the ordinary

> f. a subset of a set such that when it is subtracted from the set the remainder is not connected g. a pictorial illustration h. track 1e(2) 2. the act or an instance of cutting: as a. a gesture or expression that hurts the feelings <

made an unkind cut

> b. a straight passage or course c. a stroke or blow with the edge of a knife or other edged tool d. a lash with or as if with a whip e. the act of reducing or removing a part <

a cut in pay

> f. an act or turn of cutting cards; also the result of cutting g. the elimination of part of a large field from further participation, consideration, or competition (as in a golf tournament) — often used with miss or make to denote respectively being or not being among those eliminated <

played well and made the cut

> 3. something that is cut or cut off: as a. a length of cloth varying from 40 to 100 yards (36.6 to 91.4 meters) b. the yield of products cut especially during one harvest c. a segment or section of a meat carcass or a part of one d. a group of animals selected from a herd e. share <

took his cut of the profits

> 4. a voluntary absence from a class 5. a. a stroke that cuts a ball; also the spin imparted by such a stroke b. a swing by a batter at a pitched baseball c. an exchange of captures in checkers 6. a result of editing: as a. an abrupt transition from one sound or image to another in motion pictures, radio, or television b. an edited version of a film 7. a. the shape and style in which a thing is cut, formed, or made <

clothes of the latest cut

> b. pattern, type c. haircut III. adjective marked by a well-developed and highly defined musculature <

cut abs

>