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

Looking ahead, Archer Daniels Midland remains on track to cut up to $750 million in costs over the next three to five years.

From The Wall Street Journal

In an instant, he stands and sweeps down the face before cutting up again.

From Literature

Parcel delivery giant UPS says it will cut up to 30,000 jobs this year as it further reduces shipments for its biggest customer, Amazon.

From BBC

He was warm in long sleeves, which he took to wearing after wiping out in short sleeves a week ago and “getting cut up.”

From Los Angeles Times

Telefonica will cut up to 5,500 jobs in Spain under a voluntary departure plan agreed with trade unions last week, the debt-laden telecoms firm said in a statement on Monday.

From Barron's