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

Staff responded with examples of other districts making larger cutbacks, adding that annual increases in state tax revenues — and the approved state budget — have not kept pace with ongoing costs.

From Los Angeles Times

Officials for the seven states have tried to boost reservoir levels via voluntary water cutbacks and federal payments to farmers who agree to leave fields dry part of the year.

From Los Angeles Times

County supervisors and healthcare advocates are pushing for a half-cent sales tax to cover services that are expected to be lost due to cutbacks in federal funding.

From Los Angeles Times

So what happens if cutbacks by insurers or by the government actually result in less hiring?

From The Wall Street Journal

He added that he had noticed other businesses having to make cutbacks by reducing their operating hours.

From BBC

Related Words

• belt-tightening
• decline
• reduction
• reversal