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

See Examples For:

cut up

In the 18th Century, during the French Revolution, it was rescued from being cut up to make covers for soldiers' carts.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Golesh’s job was to cut up game film for the coaching staff—but he was bold enough, from time to time, to offer his own perspective on patterns he’d identified.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

So I sliced the kielbasa into coins, cut up one red pepper and one medium onion, tucked the whole thing into a reusable freezer bag and flattened it out.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

“It belongs in the hands of the people, because it’s too valuable to cut up and develop.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

The trousers were cut up into pieces and then one of the men sat down on a rock and put them together again with white string.

From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell