1
: something cut back
2
: reduction
a cutback in funding
cut back; cutting back; cuts back
: to shorten by cutting : prune
1
: to interrupt the sequence of a plot (as of a movie) by introducing events prior to those last presented
2
: cut down
cut back on sugar
Synonyms
Examples of cutback in a Sentence
Verb
we need to cut back the bushes a bit so that the house number is visible from the street
cut back the meeting so everyone could leave early for the long weekend
Recent Examples on the Web
Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 29 Jan. 2025
No one knows how much that will be for the one that starts May 1, which has some worrying about cutbacks.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2025
Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 16 Jan. 2025
By Sam Stone January 16, 2025 There are many reasons to cut out—or cut back on—alcohol.
—Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for cutback 
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Noun
Peter Chin-Hong, MD, an infectious-disease specialist and a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, suggests that cutbacks in public health funding in recent years may have played a role.
—Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 29 Jan. 2025
No one knows how much that will be for the one that starts May 1, which has some worrying about cutbacks.
—Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 23 Jan. 2025
Verb
Health issues ultimately forced him to cut back on games in 2014.
—Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 16 Jan. 2025
By Sam Stone January 16, 2025 There are many reasons to cut out—or cut back on—alcohol.
—Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 16 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for cutback
Dictionary Entries Near cutback
Cite this Entry
“Cutback.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cutback. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cutback
1 of 2 noun
cut·back
ˈkət-ˌbak 
: an act or instance of cutting something back
cut back
2 of 2 verbˈkət-ˈbak
1
2
: to reduce something in amount
cut back on smoking
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