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cut

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

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Letters

3 characters

Language

English

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "cut", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "cut" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "cut" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

cut is aEnglishverb. It means: To incise, to cut into the surface of something. Pronounced /kʌt/. It ranks #569 in English word frequency. Often confused with CV and CW.

Key facts for cut
PropertyValue
Headwordcut
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kʌt/
Letters3
Frequency rank#569
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of cut in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cut is 3 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /kʌt/. Corpus data places it at rank #569 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language.Wiktionary records 34 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for cut in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CV", "CW", "CX", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English cutten, kitten, kytten, ketten (“to cut”) (compare Scots kut, kit (“to cut”)), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *kytja, *kutta, from Proto-Germanic *kutjaną, *kuttaną (“to cut”), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Proto-Germ… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is cut, spelled C-U-T, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
  2. 2
    To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
  3. 3
    To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
  4. 4
    To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
  5. 5
    To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
  6. 6
    To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
  7. 7
    To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
  8. 8
    To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
  9. 9
    To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
  10. 10
    To admit of incision or severance; to yield to a cutting instrument.
  11. 11
    To separate, remove, reject or reduce.
  12. 12
    To separate, remove, reject or reduce.
  13. 13
    To separate, remove, reject or reduce.
  14. 14
    To separate, remove, reject or reduce.
  15. 15
    To separate, remove, reject or reduce.
  16. 16
    To ignore as a social rebuff or snub.
  17. 17
    To make an abrupt transition from one scene or image to another.
  18. 18
    To edit a film by selecting takes from original footage.
  19. 19
    To remove (text, a picture, etc.) and place in memory in order to paste at a later time.
  20. 20
    To enter a queue in the wrong place.
  21. 21
    To intersect or cross in such a way as to divide in half or nearly so.
  22. 22
    To make the ball spin sideways by running one's fingers down the side of the ball while bowling it.
  23. 23
    To deflect (a bowled ball) to the off, with a chopping movement of the bat.
  24. 24
    To change direction suddenly.
  25. 25
    To divide a pack of playing cards into two parts, often followed by placing the two parts back together in the opposite order.
  26. 26
    To make, negotiate; to finalise, conclude; to issue.
  27. 27
    To dilute or adulterate something, especially a recreational drug.
  28. 28
    To exhibit (a figure having some trait).
  29. 29
    To stop, disengage, or cease.
  30. 30
    To renounce or give up.
  31. 31
    To drive (a ball) to one side, as by (in billiards or croquet) hitting it fine with another ball, or (in tennis) striking it with the racket inclined.
  32. 32
    To lose body mass, aiming to keep muscle but lose body fat.
  33. 33
    To perform (an elaborate dancing movement etc.).
  34. 34
    To run or hurry.

Etymology

From Middle English cutten, kitten, kytten, ketten (“to cut”) (compare Scots kut, kit (“to cut”)), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *kytja, *kutta, from Proto-Germanic *kutjaną, *kuttaną (“to cut”), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *kwetwą (“meat, flesh”) (compare Old Norse kvett (“meat”)). Akin to Middle Swedish kotta (“to cut or carve with a knife”) (compare dialectal Swedish kåta, kuta (“to cut or chip with a knife”), Swedish kuta, kytti (“a knife”)), Norwegian Bokmål kutte (“to cut”), Norwegian Nynorsk kutte (“to cut”), Icelandic kuta (“to cut with a knife”), Old Norse kuti (“small knife”), Norwegian kyttel, kytel, kjutul (“pointed slip of wood used to strip bark”). Displaced native Middle English snithen (from Old English snīþan; compare German schneiden), which still survives in some dialects as snithe or snead. See snide. Adjective sense of "drunk" (now rare and now usually used in the originally jocular derivative form of half-cut) dates from the 17th century, from cut in the leg, to have cut your leg, euphemism for being very drunk.

Synonyms

carvechivecutincideinciselacerateracesharesneadsnickslashslivesnithe

This word in other languages

Spanish(Español)Portuguese(Português)French(Français)German(Deutsch)

Frequency rank: #569 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cut"?
"cut" is spelled C-U-T. The IPA pronunciation is /kʌt/.
What does "cut" mean?
As a verb, "cut" means: To incise, to cut into the surface of something.
What words are commonly confused with "cut"?
"cut" is commonly confused with "CV", "CW", "CX". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cut"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cut" is /kʌt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cut"?
From Middle English cutten, kitten, kytten, ketten (“to cut”) (compare Scots kut, kit (“to cut”)), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *kytja, *kutta, from Proto-Germanic *kutjaną, *kuttaną (“to cut”), of uncertain origin, perhaps related to ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.