1
as in to shave
to make (something) shorter or smaller with the use of a cutting instrument
we need to cut back the bushes a bit so that the house number is visible from the street
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to shorten
to make less in extent or duration
cut back the meeting so everyone could leave early for the long weekend
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in curtailed
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in curtailment
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cut back
Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Herbaceous peonies should be cut back in the fall and insulated from cold weather.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 6 Nov. 2025
Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
Both were from similar actions, where Paintsil tapped in a cut-back pass that nobody on Sporting’s back line anticipated.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 28 Sep. 2025
Steve Fryer, Oc Register, 25 Oct. 2025
The filing does not specify if the cutback in Amazon holdings is from sales of shares, donations or both.
—Jessica Coacci, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cut back
Verb
Instead, the city would probably ask residents to cut back on outdoor water usage and monitor for leaks.
—Adjective
In September 2023, under De Zerbi, Brighton’s opening goal again came from a cut-back, this time the right flank.
—Noun
The Saints tied it on a short screen pass from Caden Jones to Bey who made a slick cutback before reaching the end zone for a 15-yard scoring play with 24 seconds remaining in the half to tie it 21-21.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for cut back
Verb
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Millions of Americans are shaving down their grocery budgets and putting off buying a home as wages fail to meet rising costs of living.—
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Over the course of a full marathon, Salomon calculated the Phantasm 3 can shave up to 18 seconds from a pace of 2 hours and 6 minutes.—
Verb
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That allowed the Panthers to shorten the game and possess the ball for 10 minutes and 32 seconds longer than the Rams, whose defenders this week admitted to being knocked off the line of scrimmage this week by the Carolina run blockers.—
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More San Francisco businesses may have their operating hours shortened as two supervisors seek to expand the city's neighborhood store curfew.—
Noun
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Many types of utopias have been articulated in late-modern culture, each one a distillation of some community’s desire for relief from the strictures and curtailments of life’s possibilities.—
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Its manifesto centered on curtailment of the power of the railroads, federal loans to aid farmers in debt, and currency reform that entailed reintroducing Hamilton’s old silver dollar alongside the gold dollar to ease monetary conditions, which would give debtors a chance to clear their loans.—
Verb
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Carolina cut the lead 17-14 at halftime after a 1-yard touchdown run by Hubbard and a 16-yard scramble by Young, the second-longest TD run of his career.—
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This same staff cut him to make room for a waiver-wire claim before the start of the 2024 season.—
Adjective
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Ohtani threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings in an abbreviated start.—
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Key Takeaways Small caps lead weekly gains, Russell 2000 jumps 3.5% Jobs report shows strength, but private sector lags behind Markets calm despite tariff uncertainty and Elon Musk drama Despite the abbreviated trading week, stocks posted decent gains.—
Noun
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The company strips out nonessential systems and designs each component around mass reduction.—
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On Wednesday, city leaders said the strategy has driven the recent crime reduction.—
Verb
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Earlier in the night, Alisha Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov defended their pairs title despite a couple of mistakes, including a scary moment when Mitrofanov was nearly clipped by Efimova’s skate.—
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Late in the first, Hartman clipped former Gophers captain Ben Meyers in the Seattle offensive zone, and was whistled for tripping.—
Adjective
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That's the abridged version of the tricky nature of prosecuting a murder case without a body.—
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For theater owners, even the abridged period of theatrical exclusivity is considered a win.—
Cite this Entry
“Cut back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cut%20back. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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