The word cut has many related meanings, all connected to the idea of dividing or separating something:

When you cut paper with scissors, you're dividing it into pieces. When a cook cuts vegetables, they're slicing them into smaller parts. A cut on your knee is where the skin has been split open, and a haircut is when a barber trims your hair shorter.

The word extends beyond physical division. When a director cuts a scene from a movie, they're removing it. When a school cuts its budget, it's reducing spending. An athlete who gets cut from a team is removed from the roster. Making the cut means being good enough to stay: in a golf tournament, players who score well enough make the cut and continue playing, while others are eliminated.

In conversation, people use cut in many ways. To cut in line means to push ahead of others unfairly. To cut someone off means to interrupt them while they're speaking. When you cut through a parking lot as a shortcut, you're taking a more direct path. If someone makes a cutting remark, their words are sharp and hurtful, designed to wound like a blade.

The word can also mean to stop or turn off something suddenly: Cut it out! means “Stop that behavior right now!”