cut down

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cut-down" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cut down” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cut downward.

Key facts for cut down
PropertyValue
Headwordcut down
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cut down” sits in English frequency

cut down falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cut down is 8 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No generated misspelling entries exist for cut down in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is cut down, spelled C-U-T- -D-O-W-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cut downward.
  2. 2
    To adulterate a drug.
  3. 3
    To bring down by cutting.
  4. 4
    To insult, to belittle.
  5. 5
    To reduce the amount of something.
  6. 6
    To slay, often in great numbers.
  7. 7
    To shoot a gun; to shoot (someone or many people), usually to kill them.
  8. 8
    To challenge (someone); to prove superiority to (someone).

This word in other languages

talar(Español)abattre(Français)fällen(Deutsch)reduzir(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cut down"?
"cut down" is spelled C-U-T- -D-O-W-N.
What does "cut down" mean?
As a verb, "cut down" means: To cut downward.
What language does "cut down" come from?
"cut down" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Using “cut down”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-U-T- -D-O-W-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list