A cut above

[kuht] /kʌt/
verb (used with object), cut, cutting.
to penetrate with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument or object:
he cut his finger.
to divide with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument; sever; carve:
to cut a rope.
to detach with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument; separate from the main body; lop off:
to cut a slice from a loaf of bread.
to hew or saw down; fell:
to cut timber.
to trim by clipping, shearing, paring, or pruning:
to cut hair.
to mow; reap; harvest:
to cut grain.
to abridge or shorten; edit by omitting a part or parts:
to cut a speech.
to repeatedly inflict injury on (oneself) by deliberately cutting the skin, as to cope with stress or negative emotions:
some teenagers cut themselves to stop their emotional pain.
to lower, reduce, diminish, or curtail (sometimes followed by down):
to cut prices.
to dilute; make less thick:
to cut wine.
to dissolve:
that detergent cuts grease effectively.
to intersect; cross:
one line cuts another at right angles.
informal. to cease; discontinue (often followed by out):
cut the kidding. let’s cut out the pretense.
to stop; halt the running of, as a liquid or an engine (often followed by off):
the pilot cut the engines and glided in for a landing. cut off the hot water.
to dilute or adulterate (a drug) by mixing it with other substances.
to grow (a tooth or teeth) through the gum:
the baby is cutting his teeth.
to type, write, or draw on (a stencil) for mimeographing.
to make or fashion by cutting, as a statue, jewel, or garment.
gl-ssmaking. to produce a pattern (in gl-ss) by grinding and polishing.
to refuse to recognize socially; shun ostentatiously:
her friends began to cut her as the season progressed.
to strike sharply, as with a whip.
to absent oneself from:
allowed to cut three cl-sses per semester.
movies, television.

to stop (a scene or shot being filmed).
to edit (a film).

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).
to wound the feelings of severely.
cards.

to divide (a pack of cards) at random into two or more parts, by removing cards from the top.
to take (a card) from a deck.

to record a selection on (a phonograph record or tape); make a recording of.
to castrate or geld.
sports. to hit (a ball) with either the hand or some instrument so as to change its course and often to cause it to spin.
to hollow out; excavate; dig:
to cut a trench.
cricket. to strike and send off (a ball) in front of the batsman, and parallel to the wicket.
slang. to be a nonplaying dealer, manager, or supervisor of (a card game, cr-p game, or other gambling game) in return for a percentage of the money bet or sometimes for a fee.
verb (used without object), cut, cutting.
to penetrate or divide something, as with a sharp-edged instrument; make an incision:
the scissors cut well.
to admit of being cut:
b-tter cuts easily.
to repeatedly inflict self-injury by deliberately cutting the skin.
to p-ss, go, or come, especially in the most direct way (usually followed by across, through, in, etc.):
to cut across an empty lot.
movies, television.

to shift suddenly from one shot to another:
cut to the barroom interior.
to stop the action of a scene: used as a command by a director.

to make a sudden or sharp turn in direction; change direction suddenly; swerve:
we cut to the left to avoid hitting the child.
to strike a person, animal, etc., sharply, as with a whip.
to wound the feelings severely:
his criticism cut deep.
(of the teeth) to grow through the gums.
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).
cards. to cut the cards.
informal. to leave hastily:
to cut for the hills.
(of a horse) to interfere.
adjective
that has been subjected to cutting; divided into pieces by cutting; detached by cutting:
cut flowers.
fashioned by cutting; having the surface shaped or ornamented by grinding, polishing, or the like:
cut diamonds.
reduced by or as if by cutting:
cut whiskey; cut prices.
botany. incised; cleft.
castrated; gelded.
slang. drunk.
noun
the act of cutting; a stroke or a blow, as with a knife, whip, etc.
the result of cutting, as an incision, wound, p-ssage, or channel.
a piece cut off:
a cut of a pie.
informal. a share, especially of earnings or profits:
his agent’s cut is 20 percent.
a haircut, often with a styling.
a reduction in price, salary, etc.
the manner or fashion in which anything is cut:
the cut of a dress.
style; manner; kind:
we need a man of his cut in this firm.
a p-ssage or course straight across or through:
a cut through the woods.
an excision or omission of a part.
a part or quant-ty of text deleted or omitted.
a quant-ty cut, especially of lumber.
a refusal to recognize an acquaintance.
an act, speech, etc., that wounds the feelings.
an engraved plate or block of wood used for printing.
a printed picture or ill-stration.
an absence, as from a school cl-ss, at which attendance is required.
butchering. part of an animal usually cut as one piece.
cards. a cutting of the cards.
sports.

the act of cutting a ball.
the spin imparted.

fencing. a blow with the edge of the blade instead of the tip.
one of several pieces of straw, paper, etc., used in drawing lots.
movies, television.

the instantaneous or gradual transition from one shot or scene to another in an edited film.
an edited version of a film.
compare rough cut, final cut.
an act or instance of editing a film.

an individual song, musical piece, or other similar material on a record or tape.
any product of the fractional distillation of petroleum.
verb phrases
cut across, to precede or go beyond considerations of; transcend:
the new tax program cuts across party lines.
cut down,

also, cut down on. to lessen; decrease:
to cut down on between-meal snacks.
to strike and cause to fall:
the first force to attempt an advance was swiftly cut down.
to destroy, kill, or disable:
the hurricane cut down everything in its path.
to remodel, remake, or reduce in size, as a garment:
she had her old coat cut down to fit her daughter.

cut in,

to move or thrust oneself, a vehicle, etc., abruptly between others:
a speeding car cut in and nearly caused an accident.
to interpose; interrupt:
to cut in with a remark.
informal. to interrupt a dancing couple in order to dance with one of them.
to blend (shortening) into flour by means of a knife.

cut off,

to intercept.
to interrupt.
to stop suddenly; discontinue.
to halt the operation of; turn off.
to shut off or shut out.
to disinherit.
to sever; separate.

cut out,

to omit; delete; excise.
to oust and replace a rival; supplant.
to part an animal from a herd.
to plan; arrange:
he has his work cut out for him.
to move out of one’s lane of traffic.
also, cut on out. slang. to leave suddenly.
informal. to refrain from; stop:
to cut out smoking.
(of an engine, machine, etc.) to stop running.

cut up,

to cut into pieces or sections.
to lacerate; wound.
to distress mentally; injure.
informal. to play pranks; misbehave:
they got scolded for cutting up in church.

idioms
a cut above, somewhat superior to another (thing, person, etc.) in some respect:
her work is a cut above anyone else’s.
cut a caper / figure, to perform a spirited, brief, outlandish dance step, especially as a result of euphoria.
cut a figure,

cut a caper.
to give a certain impression of oneself:
he cut a distinguished figure in his tuxedo.

cut and run,

nautical. to cut the anchor cable and set sail, as in an emergency.
to leave as hurriedly as possible; flee.

cut back,

to shorten by cutting off the end.
to curtail or discontinue:
steel production has been cut back in recent months.
to return to an earlier episode or event, as in the plot of a novel.
football. to reverse direction suddenly by moving in the diagonally opposite course.

cut both ways, to have, produce, or result in advantages as well as disadvantages:
this decision will inevitably cut both ways.
cut / chop down to size, to reduce the stature or importance of:
the novelist had a big ego until the critics cut him down to size.
cut it, informal.

to achieve or maintain a desired level of performance:
the aging football player decided he couldn’t cut it any longer and retired.
to be effective or successful; satisfy a need.

cut it out, informal. to stop doing something:
that hurts! cut it out!
cut no ice. ice (def 25).
cut out for, fitted for; capable of:
he wasn’t cut out for military service.
related forms
half-cut, adjective
miscut, verb, miscut, miscutting.
outcut, verb (used with object), outcut, outcutting.
recut, verb, recut, recutting.
well-cut, adjective
synonyms
cut
/kʌt/
verb cuts, cutting, cut
to open up or incise (a person or thing) with a sharp edge or instrument; gash
(of a sharp instrument) to penetrate or incise (a person or thing)
to divide or be divided with or as if with a sharp instrument: cut a slice of bread
(intransitive) to use a sharp-edged instrument or an instrument that cuts
(transitive) to trim or prune by or as if by clipping: to cut hair
(transitive) to reap or mow (a crop, gr-ss, etc)
(transitive) to geld or castrate
(transitive) sometimes foll by out. to make, form, or shape by cutting: to cut a suit
(transitive) to hollow or dig out; excavate: to cut a tunnel through the mountain
to strike (an object) sharply
(transitive) (sport) to hit (a ball) with a downward slicing stroke so as to impart spin or cause it to fall short
(cricket) to hit (the ball) to the off side, usually between cover and third man, with a roughly horizontal bat
to hurt or wound the feelings of (a person), esp by malicious speech or action
(transitive) (informal) to refuse to recognize; snub
(transitive) (informal) to absent oneself from (an activity, location, etc), esp without permission or in haste: to cut cl-ss
(transitive) to abridge, shorten, or edit by excising a part or parts
(transitive) often foll by down. to lower, reduce, or curtail: to cut losses
(transitive) to dilute or weaken: heroin that was cut with nontoxic elements
(transitive) to dissolve or break up: to cut fat
when intr, foll by across or through. to cross or traverse: the footpath cuts through the field
(intransitive) to make a sharp or sudden change in direction; veer
to grow (teeth) through the gums or (of teeth) to appear through the gums
(intransitive) (films)

to call a halt to a shooting sequence
(foll by to) to move quickly to another scene

(films) to edit (film)
(transitive) to switch off (a light, car engine, etc)
(transitive) (of a performer, recording company, etc) to make (a record or tape of a song, concert, performance, etc)
(cards)

to divide (the pack) at random into two parts after shuffling
(intransitive) to pick cards from a spread pack to decide dealer, partners, etc

(transitive) to remove (material) from an object by means of a chisel, lathe, etc
(transitive) (of a tool) to bite into (an object)
(intransitive) (of a horse) to injure the leg just above the hoof by a blow from the opposite foot
cut a caper, cut capers

to skip or jump playfully
to act or behave playfully; frolic

cut both ways

to have both good and bad effects
to affect both sides of something, as two parties in an argument, etc

cut a dash, to behave or dress showily or strikingly; make a stylish impression
(informal) cut a person dead, to ignore a person completely
cut a good figure, to appear or behave well
cut a poor figure, to appear or behave badly
(informal) cut and run, to make a rapid escape
(slang) cut it, be successful in doing something
(informal) cut it fine, to allow little margin of time, sp-ce, etc
cut corners, to do something in the easiest or shortest way, esp at the expense of high standards: we could finish this project early only if we cut corners
cut loose, to free or become freed from restraint, custody, anchorage, etc
(informal) cut no ice, to fail to make an impression
cut one’s losses, to give up spending time, money, or energy on an unprofitable or unsuccessful activity
(informal) cut one’s teeth on

to use at an early age or stage
to practise on

adjective
detached, divided, or separated by cutting
(botany) incised or divided: cut leaves
made, shaped, or fashioned by cutting
reduced or diminished by or as if by cutting: cut prices
gelded or castrated
weakened or diluted
(brit) a slang word for drunk
hurt; resentful
(informal) cut and dried, settled or arranged in advance
(austral & nz) cut lunch, a sandwich lunch carried from home to work, school, etc
noun
the act of cutting
a stroke or incision made by cutting; gash
a piece or part cut off, esp a section of food cut from the whole: a cut of meat
the edge of anything cut or sliced
a p-ssage, channel, path, etc, cut or hollowed out
an omission or deletion, esp in a text, film, or play
a reduction in price, salary, etc
a decrease in government finance in a particular department or area, usually leading to a reduction of services, staff numbers, etc
short for power cut
(mainly us & canadian) a quant-ty of timber cut during a specific time or operation
(informal) a portion or share
(informal) a straw, slip of paper, etc, used in drawing lots
the manner or style in which a thing, esp a garment, is cut; fashion

(irish, informal) a person’s general appearance: i didn’t like the cut of him
(irish, derogatory) a dirty or untidy condition: look at the cut of your shoes

a direct route; short cut
the us name for block (sense 15)
(sport) the spin of a cut ball
(cricket) a stroke made with the bat in a roughly horizontal position
(films) an immediate transition from one shot to the next, brought about by splicing the two shots together
(informal) an individual piece of music on a record; track
words or an action that hurt another person’s feelings
a refusal to recognize an acquaintance; snub
(informal, mainly us) an unauthorized absence, esp from a school cl-ss
(chem) a fraction obtained in distillation, as in oil refining
the metal removed in a single p-ss of a machine tool

the shape of the teeth of a file
their co-rs-ness or fineness

(brit) a stretch of water, esp a c-n-l
(informal) a cut above, superior (to); better (than)
(golf) make the cut, to better or equal the required score after two rounds in a strokeplay tournament, thus avoiding elimination from the final two rounds
(golf) miss the cut, to achieve a greater score after the first two rounds of a strokeplay tournament than that required to play in the remaining two rounds
see also cut across, cut along, cutback, cut down, cut in, cut off, cut out, cut up
word origin
c13: probably of scandinavian origin; compare norwegian kutte to cut, icelandic kuti small knife
cut
v.

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.
n.

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

cut (kŭt)
v. cut, cut·ting, cuts

to penetrate with a sharp edge; strike a narrow opening in.

to separate into parts with or as if with a sharp-edged instrument; sever.

to make an incision or a separation.

to have a new tooth grow through the gums.

to form or shape by severing or incising.

to separate from a body; detach.

to lessen the strength of; dilute.

n.

the act of cutting.

the result of cutting, especially an opening or wound made by a sharp edge.

adjective

: cut whiskey/ heavily cut cocaine
: a brutally cut film/ a cut version
muscular: cut abs
circ-mcised: not cut and neither is he

noun

: anybody with more than four cuts flunks
a share or portion, esp of criminal or gambling profits (1900s+)
: how much of a cut did you make?
: welles had surrendered the right of final cut in his contract
: what a nasty cut she gave me
: that wasn’t a snub, it was a cut
: i made the cut!
a turn; time; crack, shot: have a cut at it yourself (1940s+)
swing at a baseball: what a thunderous cut that was!
a phonograph record or side, or a separate band on a record: osmond will perform cuts from ”donny osmond” (1930s+)
an opinion or interpretation; viewpoint; slant, take: i got a different cut from an american general (1990s+)

verb

to absent oneself from without permission or legitimate excuse: she cut choir practice twice/ to cut cl-ss (1794+ british university)
: they cut the million eight ways
to dilute something, esp whiskey or narcotics: they cut the pure stuff before they sell it on the street (1920s+)
to shorten a movie, book, m-n-script, etc (1865+)
to edit a film or other script (1913+)
to recur to a scene shown before •the dated form is cut back: cut back to jazz at lincoln center (1913+ movies)
to injure someone with an insult or sarcasm: that crack really cut me (1582+)
to ignore someone pointedly, esp an acquaintance: next time i saw him i cut him (1634+)
to remove someone from a team, cast, group, etc • the date reflects cowboy use for removing some cattle from a herd: i’ll be happy if coach doesn’t cut me (1880s+)
(also cut it, cut it out) to stop doing something; desist •usu an irritated command: cut the cr-p, martinez (1859+)
to leave; depart: let’s cut. we ain’t no more than just time, providing we step lively (1612+)
to speed; barrel: and ”cut” about the streets like tom thumb’s coach (1855+)
to swing at the ball (1940s+ baseball)
to outdo someone; best; surp-ss: lydia lunch, who i feel cuts yoko on every possible level (1880s+)
to do something well; groove (black 1940s+ fr jazz musicians)
to make a phonograph record, cd, or tape recording; record: he cut a couple of demos yesterday (1937+)

cut