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• cut-and-paste
  cut-and-paste

  adjective

  assembled or produced from various existing bits and pieces.
• cut and paste
  cut and paste

  noun

  a technique used in word processing by which a section of text can be moved within a document

cut-and-paste

American  

[kuht-n-peyst] / ˈkʌt nˈpeɪst /

adjective

1. assembled or produced from various existing bits and pieces.

   The book purports to be a history but is just a cut-and-paste job of old essays and newspaper clippings.

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cut and paste British  

noun

1. a technique used in word processing by which a section of text can be moved within a document

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cut and paste Idioms  

1. Describing a patched-up job or trivial work. For example, The revision was easy, just cut and paste, or The new assistant had expected some training, but all she got was cut and paste. This term alludes to simple artwork done by small children—cutting out pictures and gluing them to paper. [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

"We need to be able to ensure that we're not talking about cut-and-paste action plans, but we can demonstrate that action has been taken and that recommendations are implemented."

From BBC • May 13, 2025

In some cases, the cheating is obvious, says Main, the writing professor, who has had students turn in assignments that were clearly cut-and-paste jobs.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 9, 2023

The awkward, halting sentences, inexplicably joined together, reminded me of first year English Composition, catching a student in obvious, cut-and-paste plagiarism.

From Salon • Feb. 25, 2023

A third wasn’t much better, the victim of a bad cut-and-paste job that left its color scheme — and serial numbers — mismatched.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2022

Analysts noted they were largely cut-and-paste versions of European Union deals, but she reaped the publicity.

From New York Times • Sep. 5, 2022