cut down

British  

verb

1. (tr) to fell

2. to reduce or make a reduction (in)

   to cut down on drink

3. (tr) to remake (an old garment) in order to make a smaller one

4. (tr) to kill

   he was cut down in battle

5. to reduce in importance or decrease the conceit of

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cut down Idioms  

1. Kill, as in The troops were cut down one by one as they crossed the field . [Early 1800s]

2. Also, cut down on . Reduce, decrease, as in I want to cut down my caffeine intake , or We have to cut down on our expenses . [Mid-1800s]

3. cut down to size ; knock down to size . Reduce the self-importance of, humble, as in He's so arrogant—I wish someone would cut him down to size , or She really got knocked down to size when her class ranking slipped . [Early 1900s]

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Example Sentences

“Whenever we could cut down extra bases, the better,” Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera said.

From The Wall Street Journal

McMullen is trying to cut down on costs by hiring fewer workers, which means he personally performs more intense physical labor such as cleaning grape storage bins in 100-degree heat.

From The Wall Street Journal

India and Pakistan have already begun to limit how much liquified petroleum gas businesses can use, while Sri Lanka declared Wednesdays a public holiday for the foreseeable future to cut down on fuel use.

From Barron's

If farmers can figure out, for example, that a certain breed of cattle releases more methane when it consumes a particular kind of feed, they could change the feed to cut down on the methane.

From The Wall Street Journal

He’d have to cut down some saplings; if he still had the strength.

From Literature