cut out
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: cut OUT. Saying “CUT out” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
The /t/ flaps. Between vowels, American /t/ and /d/ both become a quick tap, so “cut out” comes out as “cu-dout” — closer to a fast D than a T. Drop a pronoun in the middle and it flaps twice: “cut it out” → “cu-di-dout”.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is cut OUT, the noun is CUTOUT. Same two words, different beat — “to cut OUT” is the action, “a cutout” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
3 meanings
- 1
To remove a section by cutting.
- “She cut out the coupon and stuck it on the fridge.”
Similar: excise, remove
- 2
To stop doing something annoying.
informal- “Cut it out — I'm trying to concentrate.”
Similar: stop, quit
- 3
(Of an engine or device) to stop working suddenly.
- “The motor cut out twice on the way home.”
Similar: stall