cut

1 a piece that has been separated from the whole by cutting choose cuts of meat that have very little visible fat Synonyms cutting, slice Related Words chop, cutlet; length, part, portion, section, segment; chunk, hunk, lump; clipping, paring, shaving, sliver, snippet, splinter

2 an individual part of a process, series, or ranking one of the new recruits is a cut above the rest in intelligence Synonyms chapter, degree, grade, inch, notch, peg, phase, place, point, stage, stepRelated Words angle, aspect, facet, side; amount, measure, plane; decrement, increment

3 something belonging to, due to, or contributed by an individual member of a group received my cut of the profits from the garage sale Synonyms allotment, allowance, share, end, part, piece, portion, proportion, quota, slice, takeRelated Words lot, ration; commission, percentage; member, partition, section, segmentNear Antonyms aggregate, composite, compound, pool, sum, total, totality; whole

4 a style or arrangement of hair she decided she needed a new cut after wearing her hair the same way for years Synonyms coiffure, hairdo, do, haircut, hairstyleRelated Words Afro, conk, cornrow, dreadlocks, perm, permanent; beehive, big hair, bun, chignon, French twist, pageboy, pug, updo, upsweep; bob, buzz cut, crew cut, crop, fade, Mohawk, shag, shingle, trim; braid, pigtail, plait, ponytail, queue; comb-over, ducktail, pompadour, roach

5 an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings completely ignoring her was the unkindest cut of all Synonyms affront, barb, brickbat, insult, dart, dig, dis (also diss) [slang], epithet, gird, indignity, name, offense (or offence), outrage, personality, poke, put-down, sarcasm, slap, slight, slurRelated Words catcall, gibe (or jibe), jeer, mock, quip, sneer, taunt; abuse, invective, vituperation; disapproval, opprobrium; disgrace, dishonor, shame; attack, criticism, knock, slam, swipe; torment, tortureNear Antonyms accolade, commendation, compliment; acclaim, applause, praise; adulation, flattery

1 to penetrate with a sharp edge (as a knife) I cut my hand on a piece of broken glass Synonyms gash, incise, rip, shear, slash, slice, slit Related Words crosscut, hacksaw, saw, scissor; cleave, rive, split; pierce, stab; bruise, butcher, hack, haggle, lacerate, mangle; rend, tear; carve, chip, chisel, notch; anatomize, dissect, section; chop, dice, mince; amputate, cut off, sever

2 to fail to attend a warning that she had been cutting too many classes without valid excuses Synonyms blow off, miss, skip Related Words ignore, neglect, pass over Phrases absent oneself, play hooky Antonyms attend, show up (for)

3 to deliberately ignore or treat rudely the snobbish lady cut anyone who didn't meet her standards of wealth and social standing Synonyms cold-shoulder, snub, high-hat, slight, stiff, stiff-armRelated Words isolate, ostracize; brush (aside or off), disdain, rebuff, reject, repel, repulse, scorn, spurn; disregard, forget, neglect, overlook, overpass, pass over, shrug off

4 to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument when you cut the pad, make it a little smaller than the carpet Synonyms bob, crop, clip, cut back, dock, lop (off), nip, pare, poll, prune, shave, shear, snip, trimRelated Words skive, whittle; manicure, mow; pinch, stump; curtail, shortenNear Antonyms elongate, extend, lengthen

5 to shorten the standing leafy plant cover of you need to cut the lawn very soon—before it becomes a jungle Synonyms mowRelated Words clip, crop, curtail, cut back, dock, hack, lop, manicure, nip, pare, prune, trim; bob, shave, shear, snip

6 to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances the fruit juice was so cut with water that it was barely a fruit-flavored drink Synonyms adulterate, dilute, extend, lace, sophisticate, thin, water down, weakenRelated Words load; befoul, contaminate, corrupt, defile, dirty, envenom, foul, infect, poison, pollute, soil, spoil, sully, taint; cheapen, debase, degrade; manipulate, misrepresent, tamper (with); counterfeit, fake, falsify, fudge; doctor, spike; attenuate, moderate, qualify, temperNear Antonyms fertilize, lard; augment, reinforce (also reenforce), supplement; decontaminate, purify; clarify, clean, cleanse, distill (also distil), filter, flush, leach, pasteurize, purge, refine; better, enhance, improve; compact, concentrate, condenseAntonyms enrich, fortify, richen, strengthen

7 to depart abruptly from a straight line or course cut towards the goal, eluding a defender Synonyms break, swerve, sheer, veer, yaw, zag, zigRelated Words skew, slew (also slue); arc, arch, bend, bow, crook, curve, hook, round, sweep, wheel; about-face, pivot; circle, coil, curl, loop, spiral; turn, twist, wind; weave, zigzag; deviate, stray, wander, waverAntonyms straighten

8 to divide by passing through or across a long mountain range virtually cuts that country in half Synonyms bisect, cross, intersectRelated Words crisscross, decussate

9 to identify and examine the basic elements or parts of (something) especially for discovering interrelationships whichever way you cut it, we won't be seeing any profits from the business for at least three years Synonyms anatomize, assay, break down, analyze, deconstruct, dissectRelated Words assess, diagnose, evaluate, examine, inspect, investigate, scrutinize; arrange, assort, catalog (or catalogue), categorize, classify, codify, diagram, enumerate, index, order, schematize, sort, tabulate; divide, reduce, segment, separate, subdivideNear Antonyms agglomerate, aggregate, amalgamate, assimilate, coalesce, conglomerate, consolidate, integrate, synthesize, unify