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Synonyms

cutpurse

American  
[kuht-purs] / ˈkʌtˌpɜrs /

noun

  1. Older Use. a pickpocket.

  2. (formerly) a person who steals by cutting purses from the belt.

cutpurse British  
/ ˈkʌtˌpɜːs /

noun

  1. an archaic word for pickpocket

"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

Etymology

Origin of cutpurse

First recorded in 1325–75, cutpurse is from the Middle English word cutte-purs. See cut, purse

Vocabulary lists containing cutpurse

"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 3

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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.

Sweet potatoes, fruit Jello, and roast pork — not turkey — would be served to all the inmates, from the lowliest cutpurse to what amounted to the celebrity wing, and its residents:

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 23, 2023

Now, Eugene wishes to gain a final rest from the cycle, to be released from the emotional burden he has carried since his days as a cutpurse in Moorish Spain.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2023

And the most ridiculous handball of all time, Raúl's cheeky chip and Andriy Shevchenko the cutpurse all star in this week's YouTube round-up.

From The Guardian • Aug. 5, 2010

And the spirit of cutpurse abandon has been superseded by an atmosphere which is often sullen, often merely dirtily proletarian, often obscure.

From Time Magazine Archive

"You'll have every cutpurse within a league down upon us!"

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

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.