cutting

noun cut·ting \ ˈkə-tiŋ \

Definition of cutting

1 :something cut or cut off or out: such as

a :a plant section originating from stem, leaf, or root and capable of developing into a new plant

b :harvest

2 :something made by cutting; especially :record 4

See cutting defined for English-language learners

See cutting defined for kids

Examples of cutting in a Sentence

Take some cuttings from the plant and put them in water.
a bag full of grass cuttings

Recent Examples of cutting from the Web

The tree cutting sparked outrage on social media before and after the Courier-Journal wrote about its demise.

— james bruggers, The Courier-Journal, "St. Matthews bank asked to make amends for cutting down 'irreplaceable' oak tree for parking lot," 31 July 2017
East Includes Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, East L.A., Echo Park, Glendale, Los Feliz, Pasadena, San Gabriel Valley, Silver Lake Alimento Silver Lake, $$$ Chef Zach Pollack navigates regional demarcations like a Fiat cutting between Roman buses.

— garrett snyder, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Los Angeles Magazine Hot Restaurant List for July 2017," 18 July 2017
Mrs. Merkel was particularly upset last year, German officials have said, when China bought the cutting-edge German robotics firm so important to manufacturing, Kuka Robotics.

— steven erlanger, New York Times, "China Sees Opening Left by Trump in Europe, and Quietly Steps In," 5 July 2017
Transfer to a cutting board or plate and let cool completely before slicing.

— nancy miller, The Courier-Journal, "Cuvee Wine Table 'a perfect fit' for chef de cuisine," 4 July 2017
Whatever their purpose, the carvings seem to mark the skulls as outliers: Dozens of other skull fragments have been found at Göbekli Tepe with no sign of carving or cutting.

— andrew curry, Science | AAAS, "Carved human skulls found in ancient stone temple," 28 June 2017
Remove the steaks to a cutting board several minutes to give the meat time to rest.

— noelle carter, The Seattle Times, "Grilling? Mayo may be your new best friend," 27 June 2017
Transfer the chicken to plates and the plums to a cutting board.

— woman's day kitchen, Woman's Day, "Chicken with Roasted Plums and Almond Gremolata," 26 June 2017
Genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision or cutting, has been condemned by the United Nations and outlawed in the United States.

— Washington Post, "Michigan to outlaw female genital mutilation," 20 June 2017

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

First Known Use of cutting

14th century

cutting Synonyms

Synonyms

cut, slice

Related Words

chop, cutlet; length, part, portion, section, segment; chunk, hunk, lump; clipping, paring, shaving, sliver, snippet, splinter

cutting

adjective

Definition of cutting

1 :given to or designed for cutting; especially :sharp, edged

2 :marked by sharp piercing cold

cutting winds

3 :inclined or likely to wound the feelings of others especially because of a ruthless incisiveness

a cutting remark

4 :intense, piercing

a cutting pain

—

cuttingly

play \ˈkə-tiŋ-lē\ adverb

See cutting defined for English-language learners

Examples of cutting in a Sentence

He made a cutting remark about my family, and I haven't spoken to him since.
a frigid day with a cutting wind that made it seem even colder

Recent Examples of cutting from the Web

Each Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Car will carry a safety engineer (who can take the wheel just in case), and researchers tasked with observing how recipients react to the cutting edge drop off method.

— charlie heller, PEOPLE.com, "Domino’s to Launch Self-Driving Cars for Pizza Delivery," 29 Aug. 2017
ARSENAL: Although Alexandre Lacazette has arrived to give Arsenal more cutting edge, the issues at the other end remain, for all that Sead Kolasinac enjoyed a goal-scoring debut in the Community Shield.

— jonathan wilson, SI.com, "Premier League Preseason Tiers: Ranking the Contenders to the Relegation Candidates," 9 Aug. 2017
At the cutting edge of the shift is India’s enormous millennial population, which increasingly relies on smartphones for education, work and social interactions.

— vidhi doshi, Washington Post, "Free 4G phones are on the way for India — with a catch," 1 Aug. 2017
In a cutting horse final, riders usually don’t like to be among the last in order because the better cattle most likely have been worked.

— brett hoffman, star-telegram, "Working late is Grandview rider’s path to Classic title at NCHA Summer Spectacular," 22 July 2017
And yet, filtered through the moral judgment of Miss Elizabeth Bennet and, indeed, Miss Jane Austen, her practical observations produce some of the most cutting lines in a novel full of them.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "Colin Firth's Shirt: Jane Austen and the Rise of the Female Gaze," 17 July 2017
Indeed, this past week these guest labels have brought bold, controversial ideas and materials with them, taking couture right to the cutting edge of fashion.

— clive martin, CNN, "Paris Couture Week: Why fashion's most exclusive event is opening up," 6 July 2017
Good news: Most of those survey takers — 90 percent — reported cleaning cutting boards after using them or changing cutting boards after prepping raw meat, poultry or fish.

— consumer reports, Washington Post, "He had fever, night sweats, joint pain: Food poisoning’s other symptoms," 26 June 2017
The SolarWise garden in Ramsey, Minnesota, doesn't look especially cutting edge as solar farms go.

— National Geographic, "Beekeepers Sweeten Solar Sites With the 'Tesla of Honey'," 24 June 2017

First Known Use of cutting

15th century

cutting Synonyms

Synonyms

biting, bitter, keen, penetrating, piercing, raw, sharp, shrewd, smarting, stinging

Antonyms

blunt, blunted, dull, dulled, obtuse

Related Words

brisk, invigorating, nippy, snappy; needlelike, prickly, tingling; caustic, corrosive

Near Antonyms

balmy, gentle, mild, soothing

CUTTING Defined for English Language Learners

cutting

noun

Definition of cutting for English Language Learners

: a stem, leaf, or root that is cut from a plant and used to grow a new plant

cutting

adjective

Definition of cutting for English Language Learners

: used for cutting things
: unpleasantly cold
: causing great physical pain

CUTTING Defined for Kids

cutting

noun cut·ting \ ˈkə-tiŋ \

Definition of cutting for Students

:a part (as a shoot) of a plant able to grow into a whole new plant

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cutting

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cuttingly

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cutting

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