cut out
Britishverb
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(tr) to delete or remove
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(tr) to shape or form by cutting
to cut out a dress
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(tr; usually passive) to suit or equip for
you're not cut out for this job
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(intr) (of an engine, etc) to cease to operate suddenly
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(tr) printing to remove the background from a photograph or drawing to make the outline of the subject stand out
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(intr) (of an electrical device) to switch off, usually automatically
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informal (tr) to oust and supplant (a rival)
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(intr) (of a person) to be excluded from a card game
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informal (tr) to cease doing something, esp something undesirable (esp in the phrase cut it out )
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(tr) soccer to intercept (a pass)
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(tr) to separate (cattle) from a herd
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(intr) to end or finish
the road cuts out at the creek
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to have as much work as one can manage
noun
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something that has been or is intended to be cut out from something else
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a photograph or drawing from which the background has been cut away
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a device that switches off or interrupts an electric circuit, esp a switch acting as a safety device
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an impressed stamp cut out from an envelope for collecting purposes
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slang the end of shearing
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Excise, remove as if by cutting; also, form or shape as if by cutting or carving. For example, Young children love cutting out pictures from magazines , or The first step is cutting out the dress pattern . The first usage dates from about 1400, the second from the mid-1500s.
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Oust, replace, or supplant someone, as in He cut out all her other boyfriends . [Mid-1600s]
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Also, cut out for . Suited or fitted by nature, as in Dean's not cut out for lexicography . [Mid-1600s]
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Also, cut out for . Assigned beforehand, prepared, predetermined, as in We have our work cut out for us . [Early 1600s]
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Deprive, as in He cut her out of his will . [Early 1800s]
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Stop, cease, as in He cut out the motor , or Cut out that noise! [c. 1900] Also see cut it out .
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Leave, especially in a hurry; also, run away. For example, I'm cutting out right now , or At the first hint of a police raid they cut out . [ Slang ; first half of 1800s] Also see cut and run ; cut the comedy .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The company has its work cut out for itself.
From MarketWatch
They cut out classes on — multiple classes on use of force, multiple classes on how to use their firearms safely.
From Salon
And as for the beady eyes, in truth, they looked like holes cut out of a mask.
From Literature
Turning to leave the room, she said, “Well, I guess I’d better get busy because it looks like I have my work cut out for me.”
From Literature
Several other incidents of inappropriate language were cut out, but that moment was said to have been missed.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
