cute
Americanadjective
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attractive, especially in a dainty way; pleasingly pretty.
a cute child; a cute little apartment.
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appealing and delightful; charming.
What a cute toy!
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affectedly or mincingly pretty or clever; precious.
The child has acquired some intolerably cute mannerisms.
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mentally keen; clever; shrewd.
noun
idioms
adjective
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appealing or attractive, esp in a pretty way
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informal sexually attractive
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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:
Like Moo Deng and Neil the Seal before him, he is the latest cute, distinctive and seemingly chaotic creature to be immortalised in amateur footage, sometimes cringeworthy brand posts, and even murals.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
I get the shredded chicken one, which is cute and tiny but really filling.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Ms. Porcaroli exhibits a clenched devotion to playing her lines perfectly straight; the script would be insufferable if she tried to be cute or funny.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
“It’s a cute little treat and it’s cheap.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
Aunt Melissa’s bedroom is super cluttered but also kind of cute, with ceramic figurines and knit tapestries covering every inch of the sun-soaked room.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Time was ticking and I wasn’t getting any younger or cuter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026
Renée Zellweger has called a new statue of Bridget Jones "adorable," adding: "I think she's much cuter than me."
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
Nora Ephron couldn’t have written a cuter outing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2024
However, amid the photos of McCarthy looking completely exasperated, I tumbled down a much cuter rabbit hole this week.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2023
He calls back, but I don't answer, because I'm on Facebook, looking at Tiny's profile, paging through his 1,532 friends, each cuter and trendier than the last.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
Lukas, another student, agrees and adds: "I used to be afraid of dogs, but she's the cutest thing ever."
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
“It genuinely is the cutest cup I’ve ever seen,” said Thomas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
No matter the outcome on Oscar night, the contest for cutest animated short has been settled: It’s French writer-director Loïc Espuche’s chronicle of a kid’s first kiss, “Yuck!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2025
"But you definitely get fewer applications for black cats and, like, this guy —" Fairbanks held up the cutest gray kitten "— you know, just a, quote, 'plain tabby.'"
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
“Oh my gosh, I bought the cutest Indian beaded bag at a gift shop in the Best Western outside Sedona.”
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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.
