cutout
Americannoun
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something cut out from something else, as a pattern or figure cut out or intended to be cut out of paper, cardboard, or other material.
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a valve in the exhaust pipe of an internal-combustion engine, which when open permits the engine to exhaust directly into the air ahead of the muffler.
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an act or instance of cutting out.
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Slang. a trusted intermediary between two espionage agents or agencies.
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Electricity. a device for the manual or automatic interruption of electric current.
Usage
What is a cutout? A cutout is something that is cut from something else, such as an image of a celebrity printed on a large sheet of cardboard with all the unprinted cardboard cut away.To cut out is to shape or form by cutting. The result is a cutout, as in When Darby made the wooden dollhouse, he made sure to include square cutouts in the walls to represent windows.In electrical engineering, a cutout is a device that interrupts the electrical current to a device, such as a lamp.Example: There was a cutout of the celebrity outside the theater on opening weekend.
Etymology
Origin of cutout
First recorded in 1790–1800; noun use of verb phrase cut out
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.
As a child, Tim taped cutouts from flight magazines across the walls of his bedroom.
Anna, meanwhile, devotes herself to earth art, turning machine-lasered iron cutouts laid on white sheets in the open air into large-scale, rust-patterned pieces.
From Los Angeles Times
This one has paper star cutouts all over the door, and written on the stars are names.
From Literature
The wall opposite them has a square cutout like they have in doctors’ offices.
From Literature
“The thieves seem like amateurs,” said Bagolin, pointing to the fact they took only eight of the 20 Matisse cutout prints, a 1947 set that are more highly valued when kept together.
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.
