cutter

American  

[kuht-er] / ˈkʌt ər /

noun

cutters plural

1. a person who cuts, especially as a job, as one who cuts fabric for garments.

2. a machine, tool, or other device for cutting.

3. Nautical.

   1. a single-masted sailing vessel, very similar to a sloop but having its mast set somewhat farther astern, about two-fifths of the way aft measured on the water line.

   2. a ship's boat having double-banked oars and one or two lugsails.

4. Also called revenue cutter.  a lightly armed government vessel used to prevent smuggling and enforce the customs regulations.

5. a person who repeatedly inflicts self-injury by cutting the skin, as to cope with negative emotions.

6. a person employed as a film editor.

7. a small, light sleigh, usually single-seated and pulled by one horse.

8. Also called rubber.  a brick suitable for cutting and rubbing.

9. (in U.S. government grading of beef )

   1. a low-quality grade of beef between utility and canner.

   2. beef of this grade, mostly used in processed beef products, as sausage.

10. Baseball. cut fastball.

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adjective

1. (in U.S. government grading of beef ) graded between utility and canner.

cutter British  

/ ˈkʌtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that cuts, esp a person who cuts cloth for clothing

2. a sailing boat with its mast stepped further aft so as to have a larger foretriangle than that of a sloop

3. a ship's boat, powered by oars or sail, for carrying passengers or light cargo

4. a small lightly armed boat, as used in the enforcement of customs regulations

5. a pig weighing between 68 and 82 kg, from which fillets and larger joints are cut

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cutters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cutter

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English kittere, cuttere; see cut, -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cutter cutters

The Coast Guard already bases ships in Guam and Hawaii, including what it calls an Indo-Pacific support cutter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

He won a nine-pitch battle, sending a cutter over the right-field fence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026

Leading off the sixth inning, Ohtani pounced on a cutter that drifted toward the heart of the plate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

However, out on the disputed reefs, Vietnam has gone on a dredging spree, using the same powerful cutter suction ships as China.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

“I started as a thread cutter, and now I’m a sewing machine operator.”

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Another grower near Mid-Illovo, a region of rolling hills south of Durban, said most cane cutters in his area came from Lesotho, the tiny kingdom encircled by South Africa.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

Tools ranging from disk cutters to saws and handheld angle grinders are used when conducting technical rescues.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

Yamamoto reached into his five-pitch repertoire Saturday, mixing in six fastballs, eight splitters, five sinkers, four cutters, four curveballs and three sliders.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026

Building on a $198 million contract it awarded Shield AI in 2024, the Coast Guard said it plans to add V-BATs to a dozen cutters, plus more on land near the U.S. southern border.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

The ground is littered with tools—wrenches, wire cutters in various sizes, hammers, and a few others that I don’t recognize.

From "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon

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