having the same configuration or look as many others of a given kind; identical.
rows of cookie-cutter houses.
lacking individuality; stereotyped or formulaic.
a novel filled with cookie-cutter characters.
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Q: We are all inundated with the cookie cutter “60/40” allocation formula… I believe a better model includes two variables which are unique to each investor: their risk tolerance and net annual expenses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026
If parents want to do something special, Russell recommends quickly using a cookie cutter on a sandwich or adding a sticker alongside the snacks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2025
If using a ready made crust with two in a pack, roll out the second one, use a cookie cutter to make rounds to place in an oiled muffin pan for mini pies.
From Salon ● Dec. 19, 2024
The problem was a bit like predicting what direction a small circle of sheetcake is pointing, before twisting a round cookie cutter in to pull out a piece.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 4, 2024
Then there are the cookies, cut into rather awkward stars because I don’t have a cookie cutter.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
Music columnist Kim Do-hoon told AFP that the Grammys had long sidelined K-pop because of what he said was its "cookie-cutter format".
From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026
“These aren’t cookie-cutter coils. No two people and no two coils are alike. I’ve seen people come in here—and walk away.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025
Indeed, Atlas often has the affect and body language of a bored manager, going through a familiar checklist in cookie-cutter fashion.
From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2025
The actor and writer from Pontypool in south Wales said she found her diagnosis "tricky" at first, partly because of the "cookie-cutter" way autism was portrayed in the media.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2025
The faces I draw rarely change, like they come from cookie-cutter molds.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
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.
