cut up

British  

verb

1. to cut into pieces

2. to inflict injuries on

3. informal (usually passive) to affect the feelings of deeply

4. informal to subject to severe criticism

5. informal (of a driver) to overtake or pull in front of (another driver) in a dangerous manner

6. informal to become angry or bad-tempered

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noun

1. informal a joker or prankster

cut up Idioms  

1. Divide into smaller parts, break the continuity of, as in These meetings have cut up my whole day . [c. 1800]

2. Severely censure or criticize, as in The reviewer cut up the book mercilessly . [Mid-1700s]

3. be cut up . Be distressed or saddened, as in I was terribly cut up when she left . [Mid-1800s] Charles Dickens used this idiom in A Christmas Carol (1844): “Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event.”

4. Behave in a playful, comic, or boisterous way, as in On the last night of camp the children usually cut up . [Late 1800s]

5. cut up rough . Act in a rowdy, angry, or violent way, as in After a beer or two the boys began to cut up rough . [ Slang ; first half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

“They got to have cadavers to cut up for their medical studies,” I explained.

From Literature

To counter the challenges, Audi last year outlined plans to cut up to 7,500 jobs over the next few years while also taking measures to increase productivity, speed and flexibility at its German sites.

From The Wall Street Journal

If he has to increase to $30 by 2032, he said he would need to cut up to a dozen servers while installing QR codes for diners to order on their phones.

From The Wall Street Journal

I untangled the wires in my headlamp, put them together so the lamp worked, cut up the sled covering, and made a rough flag.

From Literature

British luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda on Wednesday announced plans to cut up to 20 percent of its workforce after widening annual losses on US tariffs and weak Chinese demand.

From Barron's