cutup

1 of 2

noun

cut·​up ˈkət-ˌəp How to pronounce cutup (audio)
: a person who clowns or acts boisterously

cut up

2 of 2

verb

cut up; cutting up; cuts up

transitive verb

1
a
: to cut into parts or pieces
b
: to injure or damage by or as if by cutting : gash, slash
2
: to subject to hostile criticism : censure

intransitive verb

1
: to undergo being cut up
2
: to behave in a comic, boisterous, or unruly manner : clown

Examples of cutup in a Sentence

Noun In school he was always a cutup, telling jokes and acting silly. Verb high-spirited cousins who cut up at every family gathering
Recent Examples on the Web
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
The scouts are getting an in-person look at the opposing players and game plan, and are on the lookout for anything the all-22 cutups can’t pick up, because the pieces of film are clipped closer to the snap itself. Jourdan Rodrigue, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025 Martinez was looking at cutups Monday morning of 6-6, 20-year-old right-hander Travis Sykora, Washington’s third-round pick in 2023, who’s coming on, uh, quickly. David Aldridge, The Athletic, 27 Aug. 2024
Verb
The boat therefore needed metal or plastic cages installed around the engines, so that the diver wouldn’t get accidentally cut up by their blades — and finding a boat and then the right cages fit onto the boat would take time. Samanth Subramanian, The Dial, 14 Oct. 2025 Techniques like this have been around for some time, but Micro-C uses an enzyme that can cut up DNA more finely than before. Quanta Magazine, 8 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cutup

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1843, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1580, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of cutup was in 1580

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cutup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cutup. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

cutup

1 of 2 noun
cut·​up ˈkət-ˌəp How to pronounce cutup (audio)
: a person who clowns or acts noisily

cut up

2 of 2 verb
ˈkət-ˈəp
: to act like a clown
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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