cutback

noun cut·back \ ˈkət-ˌbak \

|Updated on: 6 Aug 2018

Examples: cutback in a Sentence

Definition of cutback

1 : something cut back

2 : reduction

a cutback in funding

See cutback defined for English-language learners

See cutback defined for kids

Recent Examples of cutback from the Web

Assessing who would bear the brunt of the cutbacks is one of the reasons behind the dispute between the Central Arizona Project and Arizona Department of Water Resources.

— jim carlton, WSJ, "Falling Lake Mead Water Levels Prompt Detente in Arizona Feud," 7 July 2018
This comes as the news division has otherwise been beset by a series of cutbacks and a steady trickle of lay-offs.

— brian flood, Fox News, "ABC News reeling after anti-Trump 'practice' headline creates humiliating error; was hostile staffer to blame?," 21 June 2018
What if Congress passed a massive tax bill with scary cutbacks in deductions for homeowners — prompting dire predictions of mass property value declines — but nothing much happened?

— kenneth r. harney, chicagotribune.com, "Doomsday predictions over tax cuts have not come true — yet," 12 June 2018
The move to create the tourism improvement district comes amid a cutback in state funding.

— joshua fechter, San Antonio Express-News, "San Antonio weighs new hotel fee to raise funds for tourism promotion," 12 June 2018
But the advocates of the SNAP cutbacks plainly don't care.

— michael hiltzik, latimes.com, "With food stamp bill, GOP once again promotes work requirements that don't work," 18 Apr. 2018
The election results set the stage for what parish officials have said would be significant cutbacks in parish government services and jail and courthouse operations to make up for the loss of millions of dollars in revenue.

— bob warren, NOLA.com, "David Dunham wins Slidell City Council District B post," 24 Mar. 2018
Worrying analysts now are the reports from Asia about the iPhone X cutback for the three months ended in March as a signal that consumers weren't as interested as anticipated in the top-end phone.

— jefferson graham, USA TODAY, "Apple iPhone X strategy stumbles but higher prices likely kept sales afloat," 30 Jan. 2018
Often, protesting veterans are unhappy that they have been shunted into low-end work or lost their jobs in cutbacks.

— chris buckley, New York Times, "Marching Across China, Army Veterans Join Ranks of Protesters," 25 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cutback.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of cutback

1897

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

cut back

verb

Definition of cut back

transitive verb

: to shorten by cutting : prune

intransitive verb

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

See cut back defined for kids

Examples of cut back in a Sentence

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 of cut back from the Web

That song started a lot longer and kept getting cut back.

— andrew dansby, Houston Chronicle, "Caroline Rose goes it alone as singer-songwriter rolls into Houston," 21 June 2018
After all, municipalities elsewhere have been able to cut back on their utility bills using locally generated electricity from wind power.

— dan rodricks, baltimoresun.com, "Rodricks: Wind resistance in Ocean City is ludicrous," 12 June 2018
Another step to consider is cutting back on nonessential household expenses and adding those dollars to a savings or investment account.

— andrew menachem, miamiherald, "Two big challenges facing women in retirement planning," 3 June 2018
The movie doesn’t simply cut back and forth between interview and scripted re-enactment.

— alissa wilkinson, Vox, "Movies are blurring fact and fiction on purpose. What does that do to the audience?," 30 May 2018
Some have been cutting back on opioid prescribing for more than five years, since first noticing an uptick in ER patients complaining of pain and asking for specific drugs to soothe it.

— aubrey whelan, Philly.com, "How the opioid crisis is changing how Philadelphia emergency room doctors care for patients," 29 May 2018
In February 2016, with oil prices low, producers started cutting back because their profits were smaller.

— ken fisher, USA TODAY, "Why rising gas prices won't last, even after Trump ends Iran nuclear deal," 20 May 2018
State lawmakers wanted to cut back on the number of licenses by eliminating the floral one.

— willie james inman, Fox News, "Effort to eliminate florist licenses in Louisiana becomes a thorny issue," 8 May 2018
Chaparral cut back into the lead in its half of the sixth after Boxwell hit an RBI single and came in to score.

— jorge ramos, azcentral, "Arcadia softball holds off Chaparral in back-and-forth thriller," 17 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cut back.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.