cute

[kyoot]

adjective

cuter, cutest 

1. attractive, especially in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty.

   a cute child; a cute little apartment.

2. appealing and delightful; charming.

   What a cute toy!

3. affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious.

   The child has acquired some intolerably cute mannerisms.

4. mentally keen; clever; shrewd.

noun

1. Informal.,  the cutes, self-consciously cute mannerisms or appeal; affected coyness.

   The young actress has a bad case of the cutes.

cute

/ kjuːt /

adjective

1. appealing or attractive, esp in a pretty way

2. informal,  sexually attractive

3. informal,  affecting cleverness or prettiness

4. clever; shrewd

Other Word Forms

• cutely adverb
• cuteness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of cute¹

First recorded in 1615–25; aphetic variant of acute

Word History and Origins

Origin of cute¹

C18 (in the sense: clever): shortened from _acute

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. meet cute,

   1. (of a romantic couple) to meet for the first time in a charming or amusing way.

      In this type of movie the boy and girl always meet cute.

   2. Also meet-cute a situation or occasion when potential romantic partners meet for the first time in a charming or amusing way.

      a classic Hollywood meet cute; his meet-cute with Jane in the bookstore.

Example Sentences

"There's a really cute dog and you can just stroke him and that will make you a bit more relaxed."

Read more on BBC

Usually it plays out as a cute moment, the assembled gaggle cooing awwww at the exchange as the queried party answers far more effusively than they do for their daily adult nemeses.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Affectionately referred to as trash pandas, the masked mammals known for rummaging rubbish bins for easy food, are evolving based on their proximity to humans, even starting to look cuter, a new study says.

Read more on BBC

It’s cute, and you’ll find yourself diverting your attention from the framed screen of the film to take in the toy-like animated mechanisms.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Jane Nguyen, a Mejia campaign spokesperson, pushed back on the idea that the controller failed to comply with city law, while also suggesting that Hall is “jealous of our cute corgi graphics.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• adorable 
• beautiful 
• charming 
• delightful 
• pleasant 
• pretty