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• cut-and-paste
  cut-and-paste

  adjective

  assembled or produced from various existing bits and pieces.
• cut and paste
  cut and paste

  noun

  a technique used in word processing by which a section of text can be moved within a document

cut-and-paste

American  

[kuht-n-payst] / ˈkʌt nˈpeɪst /

adjective

1. assembled or produced from various existing bits and pieces.

   The book purports to be a history but is just a cut-and-paste job of old essays and newspaper clippings.

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cut and paste British  

noun

1. a technique used in word processing by which a section of text can be moved within a document

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cut and paste Idioms  

1. Describing a patched-up job or trivial work. For example, The revision was easy, just cut and paste, or The new assistant had expected some training, but all she got was cut and paste. This term alludes to simple artwork done by small children—cutting out pictures and gluing them to paper. [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cut-and-paste cut and paste

“That being said, it’s not a cut-and-paste kind of reform. There are serious design and implementation details that matter for realizing the promise of these sorts of initiatives.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2025

The blogger, 32-year-old Sholto David, of Pontypridd, Wales, is a scientist-sleuth who detects cut-and-paste image manipulation in published scientific papers.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 28, 2024

"They all pretty much cut-and-paste the same things," he said.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2023

The awkward, halting sentences, inexplicably joined together, reminded me of first year English Composition, catching a student in obvious, cut-and-paste plagiarism.

From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2023

Analysts noted they were largely cut-and-paste versions of European Union deals, but she reaped the publicity.

From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2022

So I decided to highlight that text to cut and paste later, and lo and behold:

From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2025

"The DUP had set out a 30-hours free childcare promise but that doesn't mean it's a cut and paste from the English system," she said.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2024

“It’s far too easy to cut and paste with good intentions during the crazy writing process and later find yourself accused of plagiarism,” Loberg wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2023

He often brought work home, using an X-Acto knife and rubber cement to cut and paste layouts, decades before I'd learn to do so on a Mac.

From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2022

It is also harder to cut and paste heavy cardboard than it is to saw and nail thin wood.

From Primary Handwork by Ella Victoria Dobbs