cutoff

American  

[kuht-awf, -of] / ˈkʌtˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

1. an act or instance of cutting off.

2. something that cuts off.

3. a road, passage, etc., that leaves another, usually providing a shortcut.

   Let's take the cutoff to Baltimore.

4. a new and shorter channel formed in a river by the water cutting across a bend in its course.

5. a point, time, or stage serving as the limit beyond which something is no longer effective, applicable, or possible.

6. cutoffs, Also cut-offs shorts made by cutting the legs off a pair of trousers, especially jeans, above the knees and often leaving the cut edges ragged.

7. Accounting. a selected point at which records are considered complete for the purpose of settling accounts, taking inventory, etc.

8. Baseball. an infielder's interception of a ball thrown from the outfield in order to relay it to home plate or keep a base runner from advancing.

9. Machinery. arrest of the steam moving the pistons of an engine, usually occurring before the completion of a stroke.

10. Electronics. (in a vacuum tube) the minimum grid potential preventing an anode current.

11. Rocketry. the termination of propulsion, either by shutting off the propellant flow or by stopping the combustion of the propellant.

---

adjective

1. being or constituting the limit or ending.

   a cutoff date for making changes.

Etymology

Origin of cutoff

First recorded in 1735–45; noun use of verb phrase cut off

Example Sentences

Two-thirds of children who were held back had summer birthdays between June and August — near the kindergarten enrollment cutoff dates in most states — and would have been young for their grade.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

Instead of relying on a single cutoff value, the charts show how an individual's kidney function compares with others of the same age and sex.

From Science Daily • Feb. 5, 2026

And with a housing cost cutoff at 30% of their income after including taxes and insurance, they would need to make about $114,400 to afford the house.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 15, 2026

The age cutoff of 16 is roughly in line with when Australian teenagers can drive and apply to join the military.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

It had been a while since I had practiced in my cutoff shoes, and I think the silver bullets had me spoiled.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds