cutaway

noun

1

: a coat with skirts tapering from the front waistline to form tails at the back

2

a

: a cutaway picture or representation

b

: a shot that interrupts the main action of a film or television program to take up a related subject or to depict action supposed to be going on at the same time as the main action

3

: a back dive in which the head is lowered toward the board after the takeoff

Examples of cutaway in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Designer Sherrice Mojgani carefully modulates the lighting to isolate the narrative cutaways. —Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2026

Furthermore, Sharpe spent six months learning how to tinkle the ivories, an impressive commitment which pays off during the pivotal piano battles and ensures a welcome absence of clumsy cutaways from fingers to face. —Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 8 May 2026

And the camera angles are almost always great without gimmicks or bad cutaways. —Zach Harper, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2026

But the show, with its scenes at Jefferton’s many buffets, live-action TV cutaways (married news anchors Jan and Wayne Skylar make their first appearance here), and ear for agonizingly awkward small talk, is as floridly Tim and Eric as any of their later projects. —Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

cutaway

1 of 2 adjective

cut·​away ˈkət-ə-ˌwā 

: showing the top or outside cut away so the inside parts can be seen

a cutaway view

cutaway

2 of 2 noun

1

: a coat with skirts cut from the front waistline to form tails at the back

2

: a cutaway illustration