cute

American  

[kyoot] / kyut /

adjective

cuter, cutest

1. attractive, especially in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty.

   a cute child; a cute little apartment.

2. appealing and delightful; charming.

   What a cute toy!

3. affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious.

   The child has acquired some intolerably cute mannerisms.

4. mentally keen; clever; shrewd.

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noun

1. Informal. the cutes, self-consciously cute mannerisms or appeal; affected coyness.

   The young actress has a bad case of the cutes.

idioms

1. meet cute,

   1. (of a romantic couple) to meet for the first time in a charming or amusing way.

      In this type of movie the boy and girl always meet cute.

   2. Also meet-cute a situation or occasion when potential romantic partners meet for the first time in a charming or amusing way.

      a classic Hollywood meet cute; his meet-cute with Jane in the bookstore.

cute British  

/ kjuːt /

adjective

1. appealing or attractive, esp in a pretty way

2. informal sexually attractive

3. informal affecting cleverness or prettiness

4. clever; shrewd

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Other Word Forms

• cutely adverb
• cuteness noun

Etymology

Origin of cute

First recorded in 1615–25; aphetic variant of acute

Example Sentences

The next day, Epstein replied, “are either of these cute.”

From Los Angeles Times

I guess this place is kinda cute if you ignore the weed-infested garden, the overflowing trash bin at the curb, and the giant crack on the front door.

From Literature

It was a cute moment because I didn’t even know people knew of me.

From Los Angeles Times

Lighton was thinking about the traditional Hollywood “meet cute”—the typically adorable way pairs first encounter one another in rom coms.

From The Wall Street Journal

"They saw me walking back, they were shouting 'Alfie' and it was really cute."

From BBC

Related Words

• adorable
• beautiful
• charming
• delightful
• pleasant
• pretty