cord-cutting

noun

cord-cut·​ting ˈkȯrd-ˌkə-tiŋ 

variants or less commonly cord cutting

: the act or process of canceling a subscription to cable television or to a landline telephone service

As cable news begins to feel the squeeze from cord-cutting, arch-rivals Fox News and CNN are stepping up efforts to adapt to the trend that poses a long-term threat to their businesses.

—Stephen Battaglio

Although broadband rates don't appear to be rising substantially as a whole, there's a chance that cord cutting could someday lead providers to increase monthly Internet bills to mitigate the loss of cable customers, according to a MoffettNathanson report.

—Makeda Easter

The majority of Americans … now rely solely on wireless telephones. That watershed cord-cutting moment was reached in the last half of 2016, according to the federal government.

—Jan Cottingham

Examples of cord-cutting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While rights fee increased helped offset cord-cutting somewhat, lower viewership was a big driver of the decline, partly due to the absence of the NCAA March Madness Final Four this year. —Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Aug. 2025

Regional sports networks, once a gusher for programmers and operators, have been in a tattered financial state due to cord-cutting. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2025

Additionally, Disney’s linear TV networks, including ABC and Disney Channel, recorded a 15% year-over-year decline in revenue to $2.3 billion, underscoring ongoing challenges from cord-cutting and lower international results following the Star India deal. —Leo Schwartz, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2025

Over the past 12 months Comcast has lost another 11% of its pay-TV base to the ravages of cord-cutting, a churn rate that was only slightly less vertiginous than the 12% hit the company took in Q2 2024. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 31 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1999, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cord-cutting

• abutting
• crosscutting
• rebutting
• butting
• cutting
• gutting
• jutting
• meting
• putting
• rutting
• shutting
• smiting