cord-cutter

noun

cord-cut·​ter ˈkȯrd-ˌkə-tər 

variants or less commonly cord cutter

plural cord-cutters also cord cutters

: someone who chooses to stop subscribing to cable television or to a landline telephone service

And now cord-cutters can watch Olympics coverage on the website and app, too …

—Noel Murray

It … is a little pricey for catching one game but might be worth it if you're a cord cutter that regularly wants access to live programming.

—Emily Price

Landline telephone cord-cutters are embracing mobile Internet as well …

—TendersInfo

Examples of cord-cutter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Since Food Network is available to stream with live TV streaming service DIRECTV, cord-cutters can subscribe now to catch weekly episodes of Be My Guest With Ina Garten live. —Erin Lassner, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025

Making the games available on Peacock gives the company a chance to bring younger consumers and cord-cutters under its tent, says Storms. —Brian Steinberg, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025

Other RSNs have their own monthly plans for local cord-cutters. —Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025

Mouse House in the dog house Unfortunately, for millions of cord-cutters, an increase in streaming service prices isn’t surprising. —Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 23 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1998, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cord-cutter

• stonecutter
• woodcutter
• butter
• clutter
• cutter
• flutter
• gutter
• mutter
• nutter
• putter
• rutter
• shutter