cute
Americanadjective
-
cuter,
comparative
-
cutest
superlative
-
attractive, especially in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty.
a cute child; a cute little apartment.
-
appealing and delightful; charming.
What a cute toy!
-
affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious.
The child has acquired some intolerably cute mannerisms.
-
mentally keen; clever; shrewd.
noun
idioms
adjective
-
appealing or attractive, esp in a pretty way
-
informal sexually attractive
-
informal affecting cleverness or prettiness
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clever; shrewd
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of cute
First recorded in 1615–25; aphetic variant of acute
Explanation
The adjective cute describes something that’s attractive in a pleasing, nonthreatening way. Things that are small or young are often described as cute, like babies, puppies, or toy fire engines. Something that’s cute is easy to like. We usually use cute to describe how something looks, like your cute smile or your cute dimples, but you can use it for anything that’s endearing or pleasing, like the boy-gets-girl ending to a romantic comedy. Cute can also refer to something that’s overly clever and a little bit fake. Don’t be too cute when you fill out a college application — the person reading it might not think it’s so funny.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Tech companies are also increasingly branding AI assistants as cute mascots, a choice that some say encourages users to project personalities and emotions onto the agent.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
I loved getting to play all of that because the stuff with Steven was so light and fun and cute and flirty, because we’re dating and we’re in that honeymoon phase.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
And if you’re sending people home with leftovers, keep deli tubs or cute jars ready to fill.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
"It was a really cute moment for us."
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Dad swears Mom’s nose is as cute as ever and I don’t notice anything different about it, but she still touches it gingerly when he starts talking about some big new idea he’s got going.
From "Lawn Boy" by Gary Paulsen
He was cuter and more interesting than I expected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Time was ticking and I wasn’t getting any younger or cuter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
However, amid the photos of McCarthy looking completely exasperated, I tumbled down a much cuter rabbit hole this week.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2023
"It looks cuter than I expected," he said.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2022
She looked like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, only cuter.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
Either boxing at Gotham Gym or grabbing coffee from the cutest little spot called Oslo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“She’s looking at me and her eyes are opening ... she’s looking at me and she smiles or something and it’s the cutest thing. My heart like jumps out of its chest.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2026
I attended high school there and had the cutest boyfriend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Zoe says her post was a success - with more than 20,000 likes and comments including: "No stop this is the cutest thing ever" and "this trend is adorable!!!!"
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2025
“I remember you loved eating fish and veggies on the porch of your tia Darma’s farm. It was the cutest thing.”
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
