cut back
Idioms-
Shorten by cutting, prune, as in It's time we cut back these bushes . [1860s]
-
Reduce, decrease, as in They are going to cut back defense spending , or We have to cut back production . [c. 1940] Also see cut to the bone .
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.
She said she has cut back on buying clothing and the like in recent years but takes a few trips a year to give her son new experiences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Facing higher interest bills, households and businesses will cut back on spending and investment.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
But units back in the UK and who are not preparing for a specific deployment have been told to cut back on collective training exercises due to financial pressures.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
In response, some schools have cut back on programs aimed at helping minority students, even relatively benign initiatives like special orientation events, and Black and Latino enrollment at top universities has fallen.
From Slate ● Sep. 3, 2026
The branches were cut back so as not to interfere with the telephone wires and the tree died.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
