1
: something cut back
2
: reduction
a cutback in funding
cut back; cutting back; cuts back
: to shorten by cutting : prune
1
: to interrupt the sequence of a plot (as of a movie) by introducing events prior to those last presented
2
: cut down
cut back on sugar
Examples of cutback in a Sentence
Verb
we need to cut back the bushes a bit so that the house number is visible from the street
cut back the meeting so everyone could leave early for the long weekend
Recent Examples on the Web
Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 16 Apr. 2025
The drop in shooting comes largely from global production cutbacks and California’s ongoing loss of work to rival territories
Television production peaked in Greater Los Angeles in 2021 at 18,560 annual shoot days.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 14 Apr. 2025
Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025
The uncertainty of tariffs and growing recession fears could also weigh on McDonald's sales, if consumers cut back on their Big Macs and McNuggets.
—Gabrielle Fonrouge,annika Kim Constantino,leslie Josephs,ari Levy,amelia Lucas,melissa Repko,hugh Son,michael Wayland, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cutback
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
None of that includes potential cutbacks in federal aid currently provided to municipalities and public colleges and universities, losses that state officials fear could stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 16 Apr. 2025
The drop in shooting comes largely from global production cutbacks and California’s ongoing loss of work to rival territories
Television production peaked in Greater Los Angeles in 2021 at 18,560 annual shoot days.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 14 Apr. 2025
Verb
During one session at Palace’s training ground in Beckenham, a young attacker took the ball down the flank, beat his man and cut back in-field to do so again.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025
The uncertainty of tariffs and growing recession fears could also weigh on McDonald's sales, if consumers cut back on their Big Macs and McNuggets.
—Gabrielle Fonrouge,annika Kim Constantino,leslie Josephs,ari Levy,amelia Lucas,melissa Repko,hugh Son,michael Wayland, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cutback
Cite this Entry
“Cutback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cutback. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cutback
1 of 2 noun
cut·back
ˈkət-ˌbak 
: an act or instance of cutting something back
cut back
2 of 2 verbˈkət-ˈbak
1
2
: to reduce something in amount
cut back on smoking
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share