short-cut
verb (used with object)
to cause to be shortened by the use of a shortcut.
short-cut
American
[shawrt-kuht]
/ ˈʃɔrtˌkʌt /
verb (used with object)
short-cut,
short-cutting
verb (used without object)
short-cut,
short-cutting
short cut
British
noun
-
a route that is shorter than the usual one
-
a means of saving time or effort
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of short-cut
First recorded in 1560–70
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.
See Examples For:
Let’s try the Expedia plug-in as a short-cut.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
I wouldn't recommend serving with a short-cut pasta, though.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 2022
“Let’s see if we can short-cut that time as much as possible and make Aston Martin successful next season.”
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 25, 2022
His trademark white beard and short-cut hair shone with the vigor of life not yet ready to be left.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2022
“There be things that’s evil in these woods tonight. I seed evil apassin’ my place a while ago, cornin’ in from the short-cut road to town and reelin’ in the saddle.
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
“But people use that road as a short cut and they’re accustomed to zipping through there. We’re letting people know they need to slow down.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2025
You can buy it ready made in a jar or even a box, off the grocery store shelf or use an equally accessible powdered packet as a short cut.
From Salon ● Feb. 13, 2025
A mullet is commonly referred to as being "business in the front and a party in the back" because of its short cut at the front, top and sides, and length in the back.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2023
“There are times when people react and think that government actions can be a short cut to getting things done,” he said.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2023
Knowing that the road was forbidden to him, because of his poor sight and habit of walking stolidly in the middle, he had found a short cut across the intervening fields.
From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford
So you can do it my short-cutting home cook's way, just know that when you do, a small part of a hard-working pastry chef's soul will die along with your sloppy swirls.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2023
Some developers are running safety and efficacy trials in tandem, instead of sequentially, as is typical, and short-cutting traditional testing protocols.
From Reuters ● Apr. 25, 2020
It’s full of technologists who grow crops in buildings instead of outdoors, short-cutting the need to prematurely harvest produce for a bumpy ride often thousands of miles to consumers in colder climes.
From Washington Times ● May 10, 2018
And they warn that short-cutting the traditional clinical-trial process could make it more difficult to tell whether GM604 really works.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 3, 2015
He has done this short-cutting by revolutionary changes in types of energy coming from outside his physical body.
From Civilization and Beyond Learning from History by Scott Nearing
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.
