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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

I've seen one rough cut for Season 2.

From Salon ● Feb. 20, 2025

I saw the rough cut of the movie and I wrote down the title, “The Fire Inside.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2024

That’s also what Disney executives asked with concern about the idiosyncratic stop-motion animation musical when they saw a rough cut.

From New York Times ● Oct. 25, 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

To read these unpublished dream songs 60 years later feels like finding treasure and acknowledging that you like the rough-cut gems as much as the polished ones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025

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

His head, with its matching rough-cut hair and beard, almost fills the frame.

From New York Times ● Jan. 9, 2023

But this hearty bowl — brimming with big, rough-cut vegetables and hunks of chuck, shank, tenderloin and rib — enveloped me like a security blanket nonetheless.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 7, 2022

The interior of Madoc’s house is whitewashed plaster and massive, rough-cut wooden beams.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black