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
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.
Topanga Creek is home to another endangered fish, the small but hardy northern tidewater goby, often described as cute.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Shaldon Wildlife Trust in Devon said the lemurs were "just so, so cute but so, so special at the same time."
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
My mother-in-law wasn’t one for raunch; she probably just thought the onesie was silly and cute.
From Salon • Jun. 4, 2026
"People are literally around a subway station right now instead of going through it. They're taking pictures for each other and having cute little moments," she added.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
She drooled a bit, growled sometimes, and just generally looked less like a cute baby and more like the frightening animal she was meant to be.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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.
