[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cut.html) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / cut [← C](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/C/) # cut «cut» in Mova's school dictionary: **to divide something or take a piece off with a knife or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it. ### part of speech verb (cut, cuts, cut, cutting); noun (a cut, cuts) ### meaning for a pupil 1) To cut is to divide something or take a piece off with a knife or scissors. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m1) 2) To cut is to make something shorter: «cut hair», «cut the grass». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m2) 3) To cut down is to make less: «cut down on sugar». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m3) 4) A cut is a small wound where the skin is opened. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m4) 5) A cut is a piece or a part taken off, or a share of money: «my cut». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m5) 6) A cut is a fall in an amount: «a price cut», «cuts to the budget». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m6) 7) (casual) «Cut it out!» means stop it; «cut in» means push into a queue or interrupt; «didn't make the cut» means was not chosen. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m7) 8) (rude) «Cut the crap» means stop talking nonsense; «cut» or «gutted» (UK) means very upset. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m8) 9) (euphemism) «Job cuts» or «staff cuts» mean people lose their jobs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m9) 10) (formal) Exams say «divide into», «sever», «partition», «subdivide», «reduce» and «a reduction of». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m10) 11) (informal) To cut someone loose means to set them free by cutting the ropes that tie them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#m11) ### sense in the lessons to take a piece away, or to make equal pieces: «cuts off D» takes D away; «cuts into K equal pieces» divides by K; in crafts we cut paper shapes; phrases: «cut off», «cut out», «cut into», «cut in half», «cut down», «short cut», «price cut»; in casual talk «cut it out», «cut in line», «what's my cut?»; in rough talk «cut the crap, how many did you take?»; in the exam voice «a rope is partitioned into 4 segments of equal length», «a reduction of 20 per cent» ### examples - Ben cuts off 5 metres. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x1) - Mia cuts a 12-metre rope into 4 equal pieces. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x2) - Anna cut the cake into 8 slices. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x3) - Cut out the star shape carefully. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x4) - I cut my finger on the paper. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x5) - Cut the pizza in half. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x6) - We took a short cut through the field. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x7) - Cut it out, you two, or no TV! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x8) - Cut the crap, how many biscuits did you take? 3? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x9) - The shop cut its prices by 5 dollars. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x10) - A rope of a length of 12 metres is partitioned into 4 segments of equal length. Determine the length of each segment. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x11) - Many workers lost their jobs in the cuts. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/#x12) ### note Past: cut (the same). «cuts off D» takes D away from the thing cut. «cuts into K equal pieces» divides the length by K. «partitioned into K equal segments» in an exam is the same. Trap: cutting a cake into 8 slices still means one cake. Trap: cutting a rope into K pieces needs K − 1 cuts. «a cut of 5 dollars» lowers the price by 5. Safety: carry scissors with the points down; tell an adult about a deep cut. ### In the corpora - [While a parent is unemployed the family may claim benefits and cut spending; free fun like parks and libraries helps.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/4-when-work-goes-wrong/9/) - [Reality TV is real people in made-up situations, filmed for weeks and cut down into dramatic episodes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/54-reality-tv-what-is-staged-and-what-is-real/0/) - [Fabric scissors are kept only for cloth, because cutting paper or card makes the blades blunt.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/31-crafts-paper-clay-sewing-knitting-slime/15/) - [Wild orangutans live only on Borneo and Sumatra and are critically endangered, largely because forests were cut down for palm oil farms.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/7/) - [Leafcutter ants cut and carry leaves but do not eat them; they grow a fungus on chewed leaf paste and eat the fungus.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/157-the-amazon-forest-floor/4/) ### Trees and pragmatics [Every meaning and example of «cut» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cut/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.