Word: cutting Part of Speech: noun Etymology: From cut + -ing. Pronunciation: /ˈkʌtɪŋ/ 1. The action of the verb to cut. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: How many different cuttings can this movie undergo? Example: Ye ſhall not make any cuttings in your fleſh for the dead, nor print any markes vpon you: I am the Lord. 2. A section removed from a larger whole. Labels: countable Example: [O]bſerving [...] abundance of Matter floating in the Urine like Bran, with a great Number of Recrements like Cuttings of Hair, ſome above an Inch long, which Subſtances were found in all the Water that I made in above Twelve Months; for which I could get no Remedy: I was adviſed to drink Water, which in about half a Year did intirely free me from thoſe Symptoms, [...] Example: I make such gelatine as above mentioned of two different qualities, [...] and I use all such hides and skins, and cuttings of hides and skins as are usually employed in manufacturing glue according to the ordinary method, and which are commonly called glue-pieces, [...] 3. A section removed from a larger whole. Labels: countable Example: Extract from "Newspaper Cuttings relating to Sussex," (Sussex Archaeological Collections, 1872, pp. 140, 141.) Example: The Witness. [After a farther inspection of the newspaper cutting.] No; it is not in that part about Weber, but here [indicating another newspaper cutting] is the agreement that Mr. Wilder was testifying about, and that has Weber's name. 4. A section removed from a larger whole. Labels: countable Example: To propagate by cuttings, is to cut off the branch or ſtem of a Plant, and to ſet it in the Earth without Roots. Strip it of leaves and branches, Plant deeper than theſe with Roots, and in a rich and moiſt ſoil, keeping it watered and ſhaded, Untill Rooted; cut off their Tops ſave Greens, as if your cutting be 12 Inches long, let 9 be under, and 3 above ground. Example: All the Sorts of Vines are propagated either from Layers or Cuttings, the former of which is greatly practis'd in England, but the latter is what I would recommend, as being much preferable to the other. [...] I had rather plant a good Cutting than a rooted Plant, provided it be well choſen, and there is leſs Danger of its not growing. 5. An abridged selection of written work, often intended for performance. Labels: countable Example: The actor had to make his cutting shorter to fit the audition time. 6. An open passage at a level lower than the surrounding terrain, dug for a canal, railway, or road to go through. Labels: UK, countable Example: [T]he railway, however, will require a farther outlay to render it complete, though the locomotive engine has passed over every foot of ground from Liverpool to Salford. The slopes of the cuttings want dressing, and several of them want protecting with foot walls. Example: We flash across the level. / We thunder thro' the bridges. / We bicker down the cuttings. / We sway along the ridges. 7. The editing of film or other recordings. Labels: uncountable 8. The process of bringing metals to a desired shape by chipping away the unwanted material. Labels: uncountable Example: Boring, drilling, milling, and turning are all different kinds of metal cutting processes. Example: Metal-cutting tools often have two cutting edges, both of which are angled to the direction of cutting, and in round-nosed tools the inclination continuously varies [...]. 9. The act of cutting one's own skin as a symptom of a mental disorder; self-harm. Labels: uncountable Example: Cutting has become one of the most popular forms of self-injury, but there are others at well, and each is just as dangerous as cutting. The information here might help you recognize the signs of self-injury in others.