cut down

verb

cut down; cutting down; cuts down

transitive verb

1
a
: to strike down and kill or incapacitate
2
a
: to remodel by removing extras or unwanted furnishings and fittings
b
: to remake in a smaller size

intransitive verb

: to reduce or curtail volume or activity
cut down on smoking
Phrases
cut down to size
: to reduce from an inflated or exaggerated importance to true or suitable stature

Examples of cut down in a Sentence

we need to cut down that dying tree
Recent Examples on the Web Developers cut down the forests and built around its lakes as the city of about 4 million exploded to house more than three times that. Rhea Mogul, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 Meindl wants to cut down on third party spending, focus on sustainability Wauwatosa is taking out too much debt and has excessive spending of at least $1 million on third party vendors like attorney fees, Meindl said. Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2024 This method also cuts down on emissions spent landfilling or incinerating surplus fabric. Alden Wicker, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024 The bag packaging cuts down on plastic and makes refilling existing containers a breeze. Ella Field, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Mar. 2024 The aim was to cut down on shell corporations and money laundering. Mae Anderson, Quartz, 12 Mar. 2024 The Sounders cut the lead in half on Pedro de la Vega’s penalty kick in the 73rd minute after LAFC’s Aaron Long cut down Morris in the box. Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2024 Last July, working in a wooded park north of Seoul, he was ordered to cut down a tall tree. Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2024 Indeed, exposing mice to a light flickering at 40 hertz helped cut down amyloid plaques, a hallmark of the disease, by almost half. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cut down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of cut down was in 1571

Dictionary Entries Near cut down

Cite this Entry

“Cut down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cut%20down. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cut down

verb
1
: to knock down and kill or wound
2
: to make over in a smaller size
3
: to reduce something in amount
cut down on energy use

Medical Definition

cutdown

noun
cut·​down ˈkət-ˌdau̇n How to pronounce cutdown (audio)
: incision of a superficial blood vessel (as a vein) to facilitate insertion of a catheter (as for administration of fluids)

More from Merriam-Webster on cut down

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