Online OXFORD Collocation Dictionary

cut noun

¹ hole/opening made by cutting

ADJ. clean, neat

VERB + CUT make | give a high-quality blade that gives a clean cut

PREP. ~ in Using sharp scissors, make a small cut in the material.

² wound

ADJ. bad, deep, nasty | minor, small, superficial He's got a small cut on his finger. | clean

VERB + CUT have | get, suffer She got a bad cut over her right eye. | clean Clean the cut and cover it to prevent infection. | bandage, cover, dress

CUT + VERB heal A clean cut heals quickly.

PREP. ~ on a cut on her hand | ~ to One man was attacked and suffered cuts to his face.

PHRASES cuts and bruises

³ act of cutting sth

ADJ. hair

VERB + CUT have I've made an appointment to have a hair cut.

⁴ reduction

ADJ. big, deep, drastic, large, major, massive, real, savage, severe, sharp, significant, substantial, swingeing | government | financial | budget, defence, education, expenditure, interest-rate, job, pay, price, service, spending, staff, tax, wage They get a lot of power cuts because they have overhead wires. | power

QUANT. round The company has announced a new round of job cuts.

VERB + CUT make They are planning to make substantial cuts in the service. | announce, propose proposed tax cuts | suffer, take The staff have all had to take a cut in salary.

CUT + VERB come into effect The cuts will come into effect next May.

PREP. ~ in cuts in public spending

⁵ piece of meat

ADJ. choice, expensive, good, lean | cheap | cold ~s

PREP. ~ of The recipe calls for a good lean cut of beef.

⁶ share in the profits

VERB + CUT get, have, take By the time the organizers have had their cut, there won't be much left.

PREP. ~ of He takes a cut of the profits.

cut verb

¹ with a knife/scissors, etc.

ADV. thick Make sure you cut the bread nice and thick. | thinly | cleanly Cut the stem cleanly, just beneath a leaf joint. | easily Sandstone cuts easily. | crossways, lengthways Cut the courgette in half lengthways. | away, down cutting down trees

PREP. from They cut away all the dead branches from the tree. | into She picked up the knife and cut into the meat. He cut the bread into thin slices. | through I can't cut through this wood.

PHRASES cut and paste (computing) You can cut and paste between different programs. | cut sb/sth free Two survivors were cut free after being trapped for twenty minutes. | cut sth into pieces Cut the cake into six pieces. | cut sth in half/two She cut the loaf in two and gave me one of the halves. | cut sth open She fell and cut her head open.

² reduce sth

ADV. considerably, drastically, significantly | short His career was cut short by injury.

VERB + CUT try to | manage to We have managed to cut our costs quite drastically. | be forced to, have to

PREP. by The department has to cut its spending by 30%. | from, to The price has been cut from £250 to £175. PHRASAL VERBS cut back

ADV. drastically, savagely, severely, significantly Social work services have been cut back drastically.

VERB + CUT be forced to, have to

PREP. on Local authorities have been forced to cut back on expenditure. cut down

ADV. considerably, drastically | gradually

VERB + CUT try to | manage to | advise sb to

PREP. on I'm trying to cut down on fatty foods. cut sb/sth off

¹ interrupt sb/sth

ADV. abruptly, suddenly His thoughts were abruptly cut off by a blinding flash of pain.

² prevent sb/sth leaving/reaching a place

ADV. completely, totally, utterly, wholly | effectively, largely, virtually

PREP. from They were completely cut off from the outside world.