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

---

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]

---

Example Sentences

Maybe people were spending more money elsewhere on the weekends, so they cut down on tipping to make up for it.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

At the same time, building contractors have been quick to remove trees that stand in the way of construction, while debris removal crews have cut down living trees that they mistakenly identified as dead.

From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026

The training TPU aims to cut down the time it takes to develop frontier AI models from months to weeks, Google said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

You can even use pre-peeled garlic, a staple at many restaurants, to cut down on extra prep time.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

I wasn’t going to pretend that planting new trees would replace the ones that got cut down.

From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan