cut one's losses

Idioms  

1. Withdraw from a losing situation, as in They decided to close down the unprofitable branch and cut their losses. This expression uses cut in the sense of “reduce” (also see cut down, def. 2).

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Example Sentences

Instead, the movie is a bust, and, as usual in these situations, it is easier to say how than why, and best to say as little as possible, cut one’s losses and move on.

From New York Times • Dec. 7, 2012

Another capitalist rule of thumb, after all, is that there comes a time to cut one's losses.

From Time Magazine Archive