cut back

Học thuật
Thân thiện
cut back

The gardener must cut back the overgrown rose bushes.

Definition

  1. Verb (Transitive):

    • To reduce the amount, size, or extent of something: To make something smaller or less in quantity, often as a measure of economy or efficiency.
    • To trim or prune a plant: To shorten the growth of a plant by cutting parts of it away.

  2. Verb (Intransitive):

    • To return to an earlier point in a narrative: Used in film, literature, or conversation to indicate a shift back to a previous scene or topic.
Usage and Examples
  • Verb (Transitive - To reduce):
    • The company had to cut back production due to lower demand.
    • We are trying to cut back on our household expenses.
  • Verb (Transitive - To prune):
    • You should cut back the roses in early spring to encourage new growth.
  • Verb (Intransitive - To return in a narrative):
    • After the flashforward, the story cuts back to the protagonist's childhood.
Advanced Usage
  • "to cut back on something": This is a very common phrasal verb construction meaning to reduce consumption or use of a particular thing.
    • He is trying to cut back on caffeine and sugar.
  • The noun form "cutback" (often written as one word) refers to an instance of reduction.
    • Budget cutbacks forced the closure of the community center.
Variants and Related Words
  • Cutback (n): A reduction in amount, number, or size.
    • The department faced severe funding cutbacks.
  • Scale back (v): A close synonym meaning to reduce the size or extent of something.
  • Trim (v): Can be synonymous, especially in contexts of reducing budgets or pruning plants.
Synonyms
  • Reduce: To make smaller or less in amount.
  • Decrease: To become or make less.
  • Cur tail: To reduce or limit something.
  • Prune: To trim by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems (specifically for plants).
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Cut down: Very similar in meaning to 'cut back' when referring to reduction. Often used interchangeably with "cut back on."
    • She cut down her working hours from 50 to 40 per week.
  • Cut out: To stop doing or using something entirely.
    • He decided to cut out processed foods from his diet.
Related Idioms
  • To tighten one's belt: An idiom meaning to spend less money because there is less available, closely related to the concept of cutting back.
    • After the recession, many families had to tighten their belts.
cut back

The gardener must cut back the overgrown rose bushes.

Verb
  1. place restrictions on
    • curtail drinking in school
  2. cultivate, tend, and cut back the growth of
    • dress the plants in the garden
  3. cut down on; make a reduction in
    • reduce your daily fat intake
    • The employer wants to cut back health benefits
  4. return in time
    • the film cut back to an earlier event in the story

Từ đồng nghĩa

Từ gần giống

Từ chứa "cut back"