cutback

C3U1T1B3A1C3K5
/ˈkʌtbæk/

noun

A reduction of some sort in an existing program or service.

UncommonScrabble 17

Meanings

nouncutback (countable and uncountable, plural cutbacks)

plural cutbacks

  1. countableuncountableA reduction of some sort in an existing program or service.

    Fifteen more proposals to reverse historical cutbacks in passenger services and the size of the rail network have secured development funding.

    2020 December 16, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Fifteen more Beeching projects receive share of £500m funding”, in Rail, page 14
  2. countableuncountablehobbiesManeuver where the surfer turns and surfs back towards where the wave is breaking.

    The cutback is one of the sport's three fundamental turns, along with the bottom turn and top turn. "It's the purest power move in the book," Australian surf journalist Nick Carroll wrote in 2000.

    2005, Matt Warshaw, The Encyclopedia of Surfing, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 146
  3. countableuncountablebusinessSolvent-thinned bitumen used in cold process roofing adhesives, cements and coatings.
  4. countableuncountableball gamesAn offensive pass played into a position further from the attacking goal line.

    Lee Barnard swung at Chaplow's cutback and missed completely and then was just too far away to connect with Harding's flashing ball across the face of goal.

    2011 January 29, Ian Hughes, “Southampton 1 - 2 Man Utd”, in BBC
    1 more example

    Before the interval an Alibade strike ricocheted off the back of Bright after Ifeoma Onumonu’s cutback. Then in added time Uchenna Kanu smacked a header off the top of the bar.

    2023 August 7, Suzanne Wrack, “England beat Nigeria on penalties to reach Women’s World Cup quarter-finals”, in The Guardian
  5. countableuncountableAn inversion feature of a rollercoaster, similar to a corkscrew but with the second half reversed.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

Translations

Bulgarian намаление, съкращение
  • намаление (namalenie)reduction
  • съкращение (săkraštenie)reduction
Finnish vähennys, leikkaus
  • vähennysreduction
  • leikkausreduction
  • supistusreduction
German Kürzung, Einschnitt
  • Kürzungreduction
  • Einschnittreduction
Hungarian leépítés
  • leépítésreduction
Polish redukcja, zmniejszenie
  • redukcjareduction
  • zmniejszeniereduction
Spanish recorte, reducción
  • recortereduction
  • reducciónreduction
Swedish nedskärning
  • nedskärningreduction
Cite this entry
APA

cutback. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cutback

MLA

“cutback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cutback. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cutback,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cutback.

Source: cutback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.