1
: the act or action of cutting off
2
a
: the new and relatively short channel formed when a stream cuts through the neck of an oxbow
b
c
: a channel made to straighten a stream
3
: a device for cutting off
4
a
: something cut off
b
cutoffs plural
: shorts originally made from jeans with the legs cut off at the knees or higher
5
: the point, date, or period for a cutoff
cutoff
adjective
cut off; cutting off; cuts off
1
: to bring to an untimely end
Each one of those names reflects a life that was prematurely cut off …—
John Kerry
John Kerry2
: to stop the passage of
cut off communications
4
: discontinue, terminate
cut off a subscription
6
a
: disinherit
threatened to cut him off without a penny
b
: to refuse to serve (someone) more alcohol
The bartender cut them off.
7
a
: to stop the operation of : turn off
cut off the engine
b
: to stop or interrupt while in communication
the operator cut me off
: to cease operating
Examples of cutoff in a Sentence
Noun
a cutoff of the water supply
The cutoff for new applications is next Wednesday.
Verb
the majority party cut off debate and forced a vote on the bill
the dog cut off the one sheep that had to be sheared
Recent Examples on the Web
Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2025
After Amazon re-reviewed its privilege logs, the company withdrew almost all of its privilege claims and produced nearly 70,000 documents to the FTC on the eve of the cutoff date for discovery.
—Alina Selyukh, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025
Although Sandu won widespread praise for helping Moldova secure EU candidate status in 2022, some voters were frustrated with the pace of reform and spiraling gas prices, after Russia cut off supplies and Moldova sought new procurement deals with Romania.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cutoff
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
This year’s cutoff for the top 10 is $13 million, up from the 2024 cutoff of $9 million; half of the league’s coaches are now making $10 million, after a series of new hires and extensions, based on conversations with a half-dozen people familiar with NFL coaching contracts.
—Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2025
After Amazon re-reviewed its privilege logs, the company withdrew almost all of its privilege claims and produced nearly 70,000 documents to the FTC on the eve of the cutoff date for discovery.
—Alina Selyukh, NPR, 23 Sep. 2025
Verb
In the film, following rich siblings (Hill & Wiig) who are cut off from their parents, Midler will play the family matriarch.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025
Although Sandu won widespread praise for helping Moldova secure EU candidate status in 2022, some voters were frustrated with the pace of reform and spiraling gas prices, after Russia cut off supplies and Moldova sought new procurement deals with Romania.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cutoff
Cite this Entry
“Cutoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cutoff. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cutoff
1 of 2 noun
cut·off
ˈkət-ˌȯf 
1
a
: the action of cutting off
b
: the point or date that cutting off occurs
2
: a device for cutting off
3
plural
: shorts made from jeans with the legs cut off short
cutoff
adjective
cut off
2 of 2 verbˌkət-ˈȯf
1
: to stop the flow or movement of
cut off a supply
2
: isolate
cut off from the world
3
: discontinue sense 2
they cut off relations with us
4
: to stop from talking
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