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Synonyms

cute

American  
[kyoot] / kyut /

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.

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.
cute British  
/ kjuːt /

adjective

  1. appealing or attractive, esp in a pretty way

  2. informal sexually attractive

  3. informal affecting cleverness or prettiness

  4. clever; shrewd

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • cutely adverb
  • cuteness noun

Etymology

Origin of cute

First recorded in 1615–25; aphetic variant of acute

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.

“It’s a very cute story,” admits Mazzei in a separate call from Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

She bought herself a cute little Volkswagen and sent the truck back to her mother in Oklahoma.

From Literature

But “Dead Lover” hews closer to Laura Moss’ modern medical take, “birth/rebirth,” and even more closely to Zelda Williams’ cute, poppy “Lisa Frankenstein,” in which a young seamstress stitches up a reanimated boyfriend.

From Los Angeles Times

"The point is to make fun of Japan's 'cute' image online, with all its cliches and stereotypes," 25-year-old French YouTuber Rocky Louzembi, who analyses internet culture, told AFP.

From Barron's

The design is familiar and resembles Telegram, offering private messages, public channels and cute stickers.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.