AAAmerican Accent US

cut back

No object

This verb takes no object at all.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: cut BACK. Saying “CUT back” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

Do not release the /t/. Before the consonant of “back” the stop is held and swallowed rather than popped — the same unreleased-stop move as in hot dog. One smooth unit: “cut back”.

Verb vs noun

As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is cut BACK, the noun is CUTBACK. Same two words, different beat — “to cut BACK” is the action, “a cutback” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.

What it means

  1. To reduce spending or activity.

    • “The department had to cut back after the budget review.”
    • “We're cutting back on travel this year.”

    Similar: economise, scale back

The particle logic

back

Something returns to where it was, or is held in reserve.

Listen + practice

Hear “cut back” spoken naturally

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More CUT phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

cut down

To reduce the amount of something.

cut down on

To consume less of something.

cut off

To disconnect a supply or a service.

cut out

To remove a section by cutting.

cut in

To interrupt a conversation.

cut up

To cut something into many pieces.

cut through

To take a shorter route across something.

cut back — meaning, examples & how to say it