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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

See Examples For:

cut-and-paste cut and paste

“That being said, it’s not a cut-and-paste kind of reform. There are serious design and implementation details that matter for realizing the promise of these sorts of initiatives.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2025

"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

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

"The DUP had set out a 30-hours free childcare promise but that doesn't mean it's a cut and paste from the English system," she said.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2024

I would literally cut and paste stuff and print it off and would carry that.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2023

Some now allow parents to cut and paste schedules, like leaving midafternoon to pick up kids and then logging on later, or commuting late morning after getting kids to school.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 3, 2023

He often brought work home, using an X-Acto knife and rubber cement to cut and paste layouts, decades before I'd learn to do so on a Mac.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2022

Crowded lines saddle much extra trouble upon copy-readers, compelling them to cut and paste many times to make necessary corrections.

From News Writing The Gathering , Handling and Writing of News Stories by M. Lyle (Matthew Lyle) Spencer