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cutaway

American  
[kuht-uh-wey] / ˈkʌt əˌweɪ /

noun

  1. Also called cutaway coat.  a man's formal daytime coat having the front portion of the skirt cut away from the waist so as to curve or slope to the tails at the back.

  2. Movies, Television.

    1. a switch from one scene to another for showing simultaneous or related action, creating suspense, etc.

    2. Also called cutaway shot.  a shot that abruptly introduces content, scenery, etc., away from the central action.

  3. an illustration or scale model having the outer section removed to display the interior.

adjective

  1. having a part cut away, as an outer section of something being illustrated so that the inside may be shown.

cutaway British  
/ ˈkʌtəˌweɪ /

noun

  1. a man's coat cut diagonally from the front waist to the back of the knees

    1. a drawing or model of a machine, engine, etc, in which part of the casing is omitted to reveal the workings

    2. ( as modifier )

      a cutaway model

  3. films television a shot separate from the main action of a scene, to emphasize something or to show simultaneous events

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cutaway

First recorded in 1835–45; adj., noun use of verb phrase cut away

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In a statement shared with The Times on Monday, CBS said that the controversial cutaway was due to a “programming timing error” and affected broadcasts in the Eastern and Central time zones.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2024

As for the clapping paws, Pizzello said a member of the crew was also helping make that memorable cutaway happen.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 11, 2024

In their mind, every TV cutaway, photograph or mention of Swift's name diverts praise from Mahomes, the NFL's offensive player of the year Christian McCaffrey and the rest of the stars on the field.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2024

The Stanford Law professors’ hand gestures and facial expressions played prominently into journalists’ recounts of the proceedings, offering the real-life version of the cutaway shot integral to any courtroom TV show.

From Slate • Nov. 7, 2023

He might have stood there for a while, considering the cutaway road and the perfect metaphor it was, if a murder of black crows hadn’t shown up, cawing their stupid heads off.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.