Cut-out
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A hole or space produced when something is removed by cutting.
"a dress with cut-out sides"
- 2 A piece cut out of something.
"Unless a boy is a very good carpenter, and has great patience and plenty of time at his command, I cannot advise him to attempt making a built model,—at all events, not until he has formed several cut-outs first. One of these "cut-outs" will serve as a model or form from which he may frame his "built vessel," with such modifications as he may deem necessary."
- 3 A piece cut out of something.; A free-standing, rigid print (usually life-sized), often displayed for promotional purposes; a standee.
"The sentry didn't answer. Taking a closer look at him I realised he wasn't a real sentry but a cut-out sentry, guarding not a real but a cut-out border."
- 4 A piece cut out of something.; A kind of cookie produced in a certain shape by use of a cookie cutter.
"Use a 1½-inch (4 cm) cutter to remove the center of twelve cookies; the cookie centers need the same baking time. Bake all the cookies (including the center cut-outs) for 12 minutes, or until the bottoms are light golden brown."
- 5 An item of clothing, such as a dress or shoe, designed with portions cut away.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A trusted middleman or intermediary, especially in espionage.
"A cut-out, or intermediary, forms the link between two agents or between an agent and the outside world. He may know very little about the organization and just carry messages, or he may be a liaison officer who is able to answer questions and take decisions; but the important thing is that he should not undertake any other subversive activity. […] A cut-out should be able to contact inconspicuously each of the two agents between whom he is the link."
- 7 A piece of clip art.
- 8 Any of several devices that halt the flow of a current, especially an electric current; a trip-switch or trip.
"The automatic magnetic cut out, opens the circuit between battery and generator when the generator is running slow or engine is stopped, also referred to as the "vibrator type" of cut out."
- 9 A switch that changes the current from one circuit to another, or for shortening a circuit.
- 10 A railway cutting. US
- 11 The separation of a group of cattle from a herd; the place where they are collected. US
"When the stray men have worked the herd, it is drove off a ways and turned loose. The calves in the cut-out groups are then branded and turned loose with their mothers; the strays are thrown into the stray herd or day herd."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Mr. John L[awrence] Gihon, a well-known photographer, knowing the difficulty which many have experienced in the making and use of the medallions, has made for the trade some very fine medallions and masks or cut-outs of different sizes."
Etymology
Deverbal from cut out.
Related phrases
More for "cut-out"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.