cutback

[kuht-bak]

noun

1. a reduction in rate, quantity, etc..

   a cutback in production.

2. a return in the course of a story, motion picture, etc., to earlier events.

3. Football.,  a play in which the ball-carrier abruptly reverses direction, especially by starting to make an end run and then turning suddenly to run toward the middle of the line.

4. a maneuver in surfing of heading the surfboard back toward a wave's crest.

cutback

/ ˈkʌtˌbæk /

noun

1. a decrease or reduction

2. another word (esp US) for flashback

verb

1. (tr) to shorten by cutting off the end; prune

2. to reduce or make a reduction (in)

3. (intr) (in films) to show an event that took place earlier in the narrative; flash back

Word History and Origins

Origin of cutback¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; noun use of verb phrase cut back

Example Sentences

He got an assist for Alexander Isak's goal - a wonderful cutback - and has looked to add more goals after 18 last season.

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Businesses are also wrestling with cutbacks to government spending, new tariff costs and uncertain consumer demand.

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Hospice UK says five of its members have announced "cost reductions" or cutbacks since early October.

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The past few years seemed to be following the familiar road to a recession: reduced job creation, cutbacks in hours, and reduced reliance on temporary workers.

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And to hear businesspeople tell it, the shutdown cutbacks are making air travel, already a challenging proposition on the best of days, a new nightmare of uncertainty.

Read more on MarketWatch

Related Words

• belt-tightening 
• decline 
• reduction 
• reversal