cutback

American  

[kuht-bak] / ˈkʌtˌbæk /

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.

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cutback British  

/ ˈkʌtˌbæk /

noun

1. a decrease or reduction

2. another word (esp US) for flashback

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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

Etymology

Origin of cutback

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

Example Sentences

The Colorado River, however, is overtapped and increasingly vulnerable to cutbacks as global warming drives longer and more intense drought.

From Los Angeles Times

“Since the cutback in rations, I see a difference. They grow sleepy, they have trouble concentrating. . . .”

From Literature

A decision on those broader cutbacks is expected within days, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Another concern raised by California officials is how cutbacks would affect the Salton Sea.

From Los Angeles Times

Output has more than halved, oil officials in the country said, with cutbacks at the southern Rumaila and West Qurna 2 fields.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• belt-tightening
• decline
• reduction
• reversal