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• rough cut
  rough cut

  noun

  the first assembly of a film following preliminary cutting and editing.
• rough-cut
  rough-cut

  adjective

  cut into small, irregular pieces (contrasted with fine-cut).

rough cut

¹ American  

noun

Movies.

1. the first assembly of a film following preliminary cutting and editing.

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rough-cut ² American  

[ruhf-kuht] / ˈrʌfˈkʌt /

adjective

1. cut into small, irregular pieces (contrasted with fine-cut).

   rough-cut tobacco.

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rough-cut British  

noun

1. a first edited version of a film with the scenes in sequence and the soundtrack synchronized

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Etymology

Origin of rough cut¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Origin of rough-cut²

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rough cut rough-cut

Davis further objected to music producer David Foster’s insistence on an elaborate backing remix for the song, having fallen in love with the first rough cut, which had been recorded live on set.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

Then they let me see a rough cut at the end of the day of my voice with her face and actions, and it was like a third person.

From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2024

Collette was filming “Mafia Mamma” in Rome when she received the offer last summer and was shown a rough cut of the first few episodes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2023

When the first rough cut was complete, the filmmakers screened it for Fox.

From New York Times ● May 14, 2023

“Which I doubt;” His voice was oddly and beautifully rough cut, as some small boys’ voices are.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

The rough-cut sandstone church, with its bright red doors and stained-glass windows, was built in 1904 to house the state’s oldest Methodist congregation, and occupies a prominent corner lot a few blocks north of downtown.

From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2023

It’s made of thin flakes of wood layered and glued together, topped by a thin laminate textured to resemble T1-11 plywood, which resembles rough-cut boards aligned vertically, side by side.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 6, 2022

She represents a new kind of Condé Nast, one built on a kind of rough-cut authenticity, but her popularity has drawn attention to the problem of representation.

From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2020

The house he grew up in, long gone – rotted or burned or pulled down – was of rough-cut lumber and tar paper.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 15, 2019

She stroked his face, marveling at what it had come to mean to her in so short a span of time—this crooked nose, these rough-cut cheeks, these rivercat lashes and dreamer’s eyes.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor