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

• cuteness noun
• cutely adverb

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

Cope's book series features cute animals using gadgets to solve crimes, catch robbers and undertake daredevil missions.

Read more on BBC

A college student who doesn’t eat meat because she loves animals admitted that she sometimes wears “cute” leather shoes.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The books feature cute animals using gadgets to solve crimes, catch robbers and undertake daredevil missions.

Read more on BBC

“I realized, ‘Hey, this guy’s really cute and funny and sweet,’ and so we started seeing each other,” she says.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"There were comments saying how cute it would be if we ended up together, but I've already got a girlfriend."

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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