cook·ie-cut·ter
ˈku̇-kē-ˌkə-tər 
: marked by lack of originality or distinction
cookie-cutter shopping malls
: a device used to cut rolled cookie dough into shapes before baking
Examples of cookie-cutter in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 20 Nov. 2023
Williams Sonoma’s collaboration with Harry Potter brings fun and magic into the kitchen with this adorable cookie-cutter set.
—Nikita Charuza, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
Compared with Very’s and Eliade’s, the Christianity humming beneath Andrew S. Jacobs’s Gospel Thrillers: Conspiracy, Fiction, and the Vulnerable Bible (Cambridge University Press, $39.99) is positively cookie-cutter.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 15 Nov. 2023
Today, the neighborhood is mostly a mix of office towers that jut up from a sea of cookie-cutter, low-slung office buildings served by acres of surface parking lots.
—Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2023
Together, the ample snow and glades make for an experience that feels more like a day spent off-piste than one spent at a cookie-cutter resort.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 15 Nov. 2023
Excursions aren’t included, and were the weak spot on this sailing—perhaps because the ship wasn’t full, there were only a limited number of options to consider, and the choices tended to be a bit cookie-cutter.
—Sarah Khan, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2023
Despite the scale, there’s an amazing lack of cookie-cutter repetition or of areas that feel generic or padded out.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 17 Oct. 2023
Like the numerous cookie-cutter climate lawsuits filed by other states and municipalities against these same oil companies, the California lawsuit blames them for causing climate change and all manner of damages — drought, storms, heat, cold, wildfires, rising seas, and so on.
—Jonathan Lesser, National Review, 13 Oct. 2023
Nikita Charuza, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and poke a hole in the top with a straw.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Nov. 2023
Cut middle out of each dough circle using a 1-inch round cookie cutter.
—Joy Howard, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2023
After making your favorite sangria recipe, add a spooky twist to this classic by filling your punch bowl with fruit like honeydew melon and apples sliced into fun Halloween shapes using cookie cutters.
—Christina Manian, Rdn, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2023
Use your favorite seasonal cookie cutters, like pumpkins or turkeys!
—Christopher Michel, Country Living, 5 Sep. 2023
Cut dough into circles using a 2 1/2- to 3-inch round cookie cutter.
—Joy Howard, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2023
Like other sharks, cookie cutters lose and replace their teeth regularly.
—Steven Hill, Field & Stream, 26 July 2023
Shackleton Crater pops from the moon’s South Pole, as if a round cookie cutter were just punched into the rocks, in a gorgeous new image that shows portions of the lunar surface that are permanently shrouded by shadow.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2023
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Adjective
Musk has already tried to course correct after realizing that—unlike the over 1 million virtually identical Model Y cars stamped out in cookie-cutter fashion this year—installing solar PVs to fit each and every need required reinventing the wheel each time.
—Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 20 Nov. 2023
Williams Sonoma’s collaboration with Harry Potter brings fun and magic into the kitchen with this adorable cookie-cutter set.
—Nikita Charuza, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
Compared with Very’s and Eliade’s, the Christianity humming beneath Andrew S. Jacobs’s Gospel Thrillers: Conspiracy, Fiction, and the Vulnerable Bible (Cambridge University Press, $39.99) is positively cookie-cutter.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 15 Nov. 2023
Today, the neighborhood is mostly a mix of office towers that jut up from a sea of cookie-cutter, low-slung office buildings served by acres of surface parking lots.
—Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2023
Together, the ample snow and glades make for an experience that feels more like a day spent off-piste than one spent at a cookie-cutter resort.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 15 Nov. 2023
Excursions aren’t included, and were the weak spot on this sailing—perhaps because the ship wasn’t full, there were only a limited number of options to consider, and the choices tended to be a bit cookie-cutter.
—Sarah Khan, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2023
Despite the scale, there’s an amazing lack of cookie-cutter repetition or of areas that feel generic or padded out.
—Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 17 Oct. 2023
Like the numerous cookie-cutter climate lawsuits filed by other states and municipalities against these same oil companies, the California lawsuit blames them for causing climate change and all manner of damages — drought, storms, heat, cold, wildfires, rising seas, and so on.
—Jonathan Lesser, National Review, 13 Oct. 2023
Noun
The cookie cutters are designed to look like iconic visuals from the books and movies, like the quidditch snitch, Hedwig the Owl, and the Hogwarts Express.
—Nikita Charuza, Peoplemag, 17 Nov. 2023
Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and poke a hole in the top with a straw.
—Emily Vanschmus, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Nov. 2023
Cut middle out of each dough circle using a 1-inch round cookie cutter.
—Joy Howard, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2023
After making your favorite sangria recipe, add a spooky twist to this classic by filling your punch bowl with fruit like honeydew melon and apples sliced into fun Halloween shapes using cookie cutters.
—Christina Manian, Rdn, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2023
Use your favorite seasonal cookie cutters, like pumpkins or turkeys!
—Christopher Michel, Country Living, 5 Sep. 2023
Cut dough into circles using a 2 1/2- to 3-inch round cookie cutter.
—Joy Howard, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2023
Like other sharks, cookie cutters lose and replace their teeth regularly.
—Steven Hill, Field & Stream, 26 July 2023
Shackleton Crater pops from the moon’s South Pole, as if a round cookie cutter were just punched into the rocks, in a gorgeous new image that shows portions of the lunar surface that are permanently shrouded by shadow.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cookie-cutter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Cookie-cutter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cookie-cutter. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
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