1
as in shaving
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument
we need to cut back the bushes a bit so that the house number is visible from the street
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in shortening
to make less in extent or duration
cut back the meeting so everyone could leave early for the long weekend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in ungenerosity
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of cutting back
Jack Dunn, Variety, 20 Oct. 2025
Consider using a soil thermometer to determine when to start cutting back your plants.
—Benjamin Vogt, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2025
Remove mushy, brown, or dead roots, cutting back to the rhizome.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2025
His crossing has often been a source of frustration, sometimes ballooning the ball too often, taking too long to put it into the area or cutting back on himself hesitantly.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
This year is especially important as chains try to reel in consumers who have been cutting back on discretionary spending.
—Auzinea Bacon, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
Drinking more water, increasing physical activity, eating potassium-rich foods, and cutting back on salt may improve excretion and potentially improve blood pressure.
—Md Published, Verywell Health, 26 Sep. 2025
After sleep, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine can be helpful.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Other educators who spoke to the Herald describe parents cutting back on extracurricular activities, avoiding school pick-up and drop-off lines, and even keeping children home to study informally.
—Miami Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Noun
The script is very confusing to read, cutting back and forth between the dream world and reality.
—Jack Dunn, Variety, 20 Oct. 2025
Consider using a soil thermometer to determine when to start cutting back your plants.
—Benjamin Vogt, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2025
Remove mushy, brown, or dead roots, cutting back to the rhizome.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2025
His crossing has often been a source of frustration, sometimes ballooning the ball too often, taking too long to put it into the area or cutting back on himself hesitantly.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2025
This year is especially important as chains try to reel in consumers who have been cutting back on discretionary spending.
—Auzinea Bacon, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
Drinking more water, increasing physical activity, eating potassium-rich foods, and cutting back on salt may improve excretion and potentially improve blood pressure.
—Md Published, Verywell Health, 26 Sep. 2025
After sleep, cutting back on alcohol and caffeine can be helpful.
—Megan Poinski, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Other educators who spoke to the Herald describe parents cutting back on extracurricular activities, avoiding school pick-up and drop-off lines, and even keeping children home to study informally.
—Miami Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cutting back
Verb
-
Analysts estimate the shutdown is shaving billions off the gross domestic product each week and has left around 803,000 federal workers furloughed or working without pay—many of them lower-wage employees.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
-
No other manager has reached that figure in a quicker time, with the Spaniard shaving 55 matches off Sir Alex Ferguson’s previous 404-game record pace.—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The goal is to capture people’s shortening attention spans amid a fractured media landscape, said Kate Trumbull, Domino’s chief marketing officer.—
Jordan Valinsky,
CNN Money,
8 Oct. 2025
-
The powder will dry the rash in a way that wiping can’t do, shortening its life cycle.—
Lauren Silbert,
PEOPLE,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
What Warren fails to recognize is that the formula of progress that dictates these measures also dictates that they will someday be regarded as the ungenerosity of a primitive people.—
Greg Weiner,
National Review,
26 Sep. 2019
Verb
-
The Unified Government created a set of incentives, which include cutting permit fees and water and sewer connection fees, for people who want to build on its land bank property to try to encourage redevelopment.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
18 Oct. 2025
-
The prince also accused his father of cutting him off financially, and Meghan said the royals discussed denying their children prince and princess titles and police protection.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
My downfall was rooted in my selfishness.—
Tracy Wright , Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
My downfall was rooted in my selfishness.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN Money,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Dividend cuts ‘would send shivers through Wall Street’ Clark Williams-Derry, energy finance analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), a non-profit organization, said trimming the share buybacks is likely Big Oil’s easiest option.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
13 Oct. 2025
-
While holiday spending is expected to rise overall—especially for essential goods such as groceries, which are projected to increase by 23 percent—many shoppers are trimming their budgets in other areas.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
This movement helps address tightness in the upper back.—
Jakob Roze,
Health,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Questlove rewinds over and over, amazed at the band’s tightness.—
Touré,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Next to a wooden model of an ibis and a Brazil shirt signed by 1994 World Cup winner Ricardo Rocha is a small newspaper clipping.—
Jack Lang,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Tie branches with twine and add evergreen tassels, then insert photos in the branches, clipping them on, if needed, to hold in place.—
Emily Williams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cutting back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cutting%20back. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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