cutup
Americannoun
Usage
What does cutup mean? Cutup is an informal word for someone who’s known for being a jokester or prankster—someone who’s funny and also probably a bit mischievous. Example: Jane is all business at the office but she’s a real cutup at parties—she’s so funny!Less commonly, the noun cutup (especially when it’s hyphenated as cut-up) refers to an artwork composed from the arrangement of other separate pieces, especially a poem constructed from other works. This can also be called a cut-up poem. Such a work can be created with what’s called the cut-up technique. The phrasal verb cut up has several different meanings, including, most straightforwardly, to cut something into smaller pieces. This sense of the phrase is sometimes used in the form of an adjective, in which case it’s hyphenated, as in I always pack some cut-up fruit in the kids’ lunches.
Etymology
Origin of cutup
First recorded in 1775–85; noun use of verb phrase cut up
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.
The circuit’s resident cutup is Jamie Marshall, a docker since 1998.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
She was the candid cutup they’d like to have on speed-dial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2024
People dressed in all black wielding shields of cutup trash cans formed a barricade around the Quad to protect the encampment against possible counterprotesters.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
She’s fully aware of the disparity between the cutup she remembers from weekends and dinners and the perfectionist on set.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2023
Behind them along the narrow, sodden, cutup forest road came hussars in threes and fours, and then Cossacks: some in felt cloaks, some in French greatcoats, and some with horsecloths over their heads.
From War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Count
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
