cuttin'

Noun

cutting (countable and uncountable, plural cuttings)

1. The action of the verb to cut.
   • How many different cuttings can this movie undergo?
2. (countable) A section removed from a larger whole.
   • [O]bſerving [...] abundance of Matter floating in the Urine like Bran, with a great Number of Recrements like Cuttings of Hair, ſome above an Inch long, which Subſtances were found in all the Water that I made in above Twelve Months; for which I could get no Remedy: I was adviſed to drink Water...1723, John Smith, The Curiosities of Common Water: Or The Advantages thereof in Preventing and Curing Many Distempers. […], 5th edition, London: […] John and Barham Clark, […], →OCLC, pages 9–10

   Synonyms:

   chip, slice, bit, chunk, tranche, clip, crumb, crumbling, flake, fleak

   1. (countable) A newspaper clipping.
      • Extract from "Newspaper Cuttings relating to Sussex," (Sussex Archaeological Collections, 1872, pp. 140, 141.)p. 1871, Smuggling & Smugglers in Sussex. […], Brighton, East Sussex: W. J. Smith, […], →OCLC, page 263
   2. (countable) A leaf, stem, branch, or root removed from a plant and cultivated to grow a new plant.
      • To propagate by cuttings, is to cut off the branch or ſtem of a Plant, and to ſet it in the Earth without Roots. Strip it of leaves and branches, Plant deeper than theſe with Roots, and in a rich and moiſt ſoil, keeping it watered and ſhaded, Untill Rooted; cut off their Tops ſave Greens, as if...1683, John Reid, “Of the Several Wayes of Propagation”, in The Scots Gard’ner: […], Edinburgh: […] David Lindsay, […], →OCLC, 2nd part (Treating of the Culture of Plants), paragraph 5, page 59
3. (countable) An abridged selection of written work, often intended for performance.
   • The actor had to make his cutting shorter to fit the audition time.
4. (UK, countable) An open passage at a level lower than the surrounding terrain, dug for a canal, railway, or road to go through.
   • [T]he railway, however, will require a farther outlay to render it complete, though the locomotive engine has passed over every foot of ground from Liverpool to Salford. The slopes of the cuttings want dressing, and several of them want protecting with foot walls.1832, “Documents in Relation to the Comparative Merits of Canals and Railroads, Submitted by Mr. Howard, of Maryland, […]. (Doc. No. 101) [No. 7. Observations upon the Cost of the Liverpool and...

   Synonyms:

   cut

   Antonyms:

   embankment

See all 15 meanings of cutting