plural cutters
1
: one that cuts:
a
: one whose work is cutting or involves cutting
wood/glass cutters
b(1)
: an instrument, machine, machine part, or tool that cuts
(2)
: a device for vibrating a cutting stylus in disc recording
also
: the stylus or its point
2
a
: a ship's boat for carrying stores or passengers
b
: a single-masted fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel
c
: a small armed vessel in government service
3
baseball
: cut fastball
His previous three home runs had come on a fastball, a cutter and a slider.—
Billy Witz
Billy Witz4
: a light sleigh
5
: a person who cuts their own skin purposely (see cut entry 1 sense 1f) : a person who engages in cutting
The cast includes Jill, a middle-class runaway in love with the romance of risk; Maura, a "cutter" who engages in self-mutilation to thwart her over-controlling father …—Cecelia Goodnow
Cecelia GoodnowExamples of cutter in a Sentence
a fabric cutter
Recent Examples on the Web
Several Mets pitchers, including Manaea and Devin Williams, are working on cutters to give their arsenals another distinct pitch to land in the strike zone.
—Tim Britton, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Typically, cutters aren’t thrown from a high arm slot, but Tong is a different kind of pitcher who has a delivery that resembles Tim Lincecum’s more than anyone else’s.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 10 Mar. 2026
Teams of ships—cutter dredges that steer underwater drill bits, clamshell dredges that swing a bivalve bucket over the shore and pump dredges that suck sediment from the riverbed—work in relatively quick succession.
—Patrick Sisson, Scientific American, 9 Mar. 2026
Many parents are already familiar with grape cutters, but Oxo’s Tot Grape Cutter can be used for much more than slicing grapes for little ones.
—Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cutter
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Tim Britton, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
Typically, cutters aren’t thrown from a high arm slot, but Tong is a different kind of pitcher who has a delivery that resembles Tim Lincecum’s more than anyone else’s.
—Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 10 Mar. 2026
Teams of ships—cutter dredges that steer underwater drill bits, clamshell dredges that swing a bivalve bucket over the shore and pump dredges that suck sediment from the riverbed—work in relatively quick succession.
—Patrick Sisson, Scientific American, 9 Mar. 2026
Many parents are already familiar with grape cutters, but Oxo’s Tot Grape Cutter can be used for much more than slicing grapes for little ones.
—Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for cutter
Cite this Entry
“Cutter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cutter. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cutter
noun
cut·ter
ˈkət-ər 
1
: one that cuts
a diamond cutter
a cookie cutter
2
a
: a ship's boat for carrying supplies or passengers
b
: a small sailing boat with one mast
c
: a small armed boat in government service
3
: a small sleigh
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