The Phrasal Verb 'Cut In' Explained
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'square up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native.
This is a post all about the phrasal verb 'cut in'; have you heard of this phrasal verb before and do you know what it means? In this post, I will explain six different ways that 'cut in' is used in modern English including to talk about dancing, interrupting conversations and painting, as well as two ways it can describe socially unacceptable behaviour. As per usual, for each use I will provide you with lots of natural example sentences to show you how people use it and by the end of the post you will have hopefully gained a lot of new knowledge! So, let's get started and see what 'cut in' is all about....
QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'cut in' mean?The phrasal verb 'cut in' has six main meanings in English....
Keep reading to learm more about each of these.... |
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one
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THE BASICS
CUT IN: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Common |
Number of meanings | 6 |
Past tense forms | Cut in / Cut in |
Separable? | Sometimes |
The aim of this blog post is to explain to you how to use the phrasal verb 'cut in' and to help us to get started with this, we need to firstly consider the two individual words on their own....
Cut - The verb 'to cut' is an irregular one whose most common and well-known meaning is 'to use a sharp implement or tool to separate something or break its surface'. In addition to this, it has a number of other meanings, many of which follow logically from this main meaning, and these include 'to reduce', 'to edit' and 'to stop something'. In addition, it is one of those confusing verbs that does not change its form in the past tense (cut, cut, cut), so context is key when using this verb.
My mum used to cut my hair when I was young.
Kim fell over and cut herself.
You need to cut the sausages into small pieces.
The management team are looking to cut costs next year.
John cut the engine and got out of the car.
In - This little two-letter word is one of the most common in English and functions as the natural opposite of the particle 'out'. It appears in a lot of different phrasal verbs, often adding the idea of a movement inside or towards something when it does. It can also add more figurative meanings to phrasal verbs, including involvement or participation (join in), incorporation (fit in) and completion (fill in).
Now that we have covered the basic information, let's move on to the different was to use the phrasal verb 'cut in'....
MEANING 1: To interrupt
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Common |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To interrupt, to interject, to butt in |
Separable? | No |
Usually, on phrasal verb explanations, I like to start with the literal meaning or usage of the phrasal verb in question but this time there isn't really one worth writing about. Instead, we will start with perhaps the most common one, which is 'to interrupt someone'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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I don't know about you, but I hate it when I am trying to have a conversation with someone and another person interrupts and completely breaks the flow of what we were saying. When this happens, we can of course use the verb 'to interrupt'; however it is also common to use 'cut in' to describe this annoying behaviour.
Typically, when a person does this, they would say "sorry to cut in" (unless they are very rude) and it is absolutely fine to use 'cut in' by itself in this way. If you want to specify the noun such as 'conversation' or 'discussion', then we need the extra preposition 'on' and the person would then say "sorry to cut in on your conversation".
This phrasal verb usage is likely to have come from the idea that a conversation is something that two, or several, people are involved in, while those not participating in it are on the outside. When someone cuts in on a conversation, they force their way into it from outside.
Example sentences....
I was explaining what had happened when Sarah cut in and changed the subject.
“That’s not what I said,” my colleague cut in angrily.
Sorry to cut in, but I think there’s something you should know.
Sandra kept cutting in while I was trying to explain the problem.
Before I could finish my sentence, Tom cut in with a question.
Malcolm has an annoying habit of cutting in whenever someone else is speaking.
Sorry to cut in on your conversation, but I need to speak to your sister for a moment.
Jonathan cut in on our discussion to tell us that the meeting was about to start.
Lily cut in on their conversation before they had a chance to reach a decision.
A less common variation of this application is when someone forces their way into an activity that other people are doing. This is usually when the other people do not want the new person to participate or join them and it can carry the negative idea of the new person intruding or being unwelcome.
Example sentences....
They were working on the project together, but their manager cut in on it and began making all the decisions.
My little brother always tries to cut in on our games when my friends come over.
I wish she wouldn’t cut in on everything we do; sometimes we just want to spend time together.
Lastly, there is also an old-fashioned usage of 'cut in' with the same idea of interruption that I want to make you aware of here and this one is to do with dancing. When two people are dancing together (like in the picture above) and another person comes and replaces one of the two people, we can say that he or she 'cuts in'. This was typically used when a man interrupted a dance that was in progress so that he could dance with the lady instead. To do this, he would usually ask "may I cut in?".
Example sentences....
While they were dancing, another man cut in and took her partner’s place.
I was dancing with Sophie when her boyfriend cut in.
He waited until the next song before cutting in and asking her to dance with him.
MEANING 2: To start functioning
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To come on, to kick in, to activate |
Separable? | No |
The next application of the phrasal verb 'cut in' means 'to start functioning' and is used to talk about machinery and mechanisms.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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If you live in a relatively cold country like the UK, you will almost certainly have a heating system in your house for the cold winter months. Likewise, those of you living in warmer climates will be used to having air conditioning in public buildings and even in your home. With both of these temperature regulation systems, it is common for there to be settings that cause them to be activated when the ambient temperature reaches a certain point. When these are activated in this way, we can say that they 'cut in'.
For example, when the temperature in a home with central heating falls below 18°C, the heating may cut in automatically to keep the house warm and comfortable so you do not need to think about it.
To clarify, we can use 'cut in' like this to talk about any time that a machine, mechanism or system starts working automatically because it is needed at that moment. In addition to the temperature examples above, it is common to hear this being used with motors and engines and other technical equipment.
Note that we would not use 'cut in' for something that we manually activate. On a grammatical note, this usage is intransitive and therefore not separable.
Example sentences....
The heating cuts in automatically when the temperature drops below 18°C.
The backup generator cut in as soon as the power went off.
You’ll hear a slight noise when the air conditioning cuts in.
The cooling system will cut in if the engine gets too hot.
The emergency brakes cut in when the system detected an obstacle.
The fan keeps cutting in whenever the computer starts to overheat.
A safety mechanism cut in and shut the machine down.
The pump didn’t cut in when the water level rose.
Once the pressure falls below a certain level, the compressor cuts in automatically.
MEANING 3: To move in front of another vehicle
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To cut off, to cut up |
Separable? | No |
This next application of the phrasal verb 'cut in' is one that is used to talk about driving, especially dangerous driving, and means 'to move in front of another vehicle'.
For this one, I think that an example will be the most effective way to explain what 'cutting in' means. Imagine that you are driving a car along a main road or highway with several lanes. A car that is driving in the same direction as you in the next lane suddenly moves into your lane without leaving a safe distance between their car and yours, causing you to brake hard (and probably shout some naughty words at them). This very irresponsible and dangerous act is known as 'cutting in'.
This usage is known all over the English-speaking world, however it is more common to use it in British, AU & NZ English. While this would also be understood in North American English, they are more likely to use 'cut off' to describe this. Moreover, in British English 'cut up' is also commonly used to describe this.
Again, this is similar to the interruption example from earlier as this one also carries the idea of forcing yourself into something from the outside, but this time it is a traffic lane rather than a conversation.
Example sentences....
A van cut in right in front of me, and I had to brake hard.
The taxi driver cut in without indicating and nearly caused an accident.
A lorry suddenly cut in and forced us to slow down.
Louise cut in too sharply after overtaking the car.
I was driving along the motorway when a sports car cut in in front of me.
The driver cut in before he had properly cleared the other vehicle.
Someone cut in at the last second, so I had to slam on the brakes.
He has a bad habit of cutting in as soon as he overtakes someone.
The motorcyclist cut in between the two cars with barely any room to spare.
As with the previous examples, this one is also intransitive and not separable, therefore you cannot say "the car cut me in". If you do want to specify the car or driver who was the victim of this bad driving, you would need the additional preposition 'on'....
Example sentences....
A car cut in on me as I was approaching the junction.
The driver cut in on us so sharply that we had to swerve to avoid him.
Did you just see that motorbike cut in on the yellow car? What an idiot!
If you want to see exactly what I am talking about, here is a short video showing a car cutting in on another car on a roundabout in the UK (red and blue car).
MEANING 4: To join a queue in the middle
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To push in, to queue jump, to jump the queue / line |
Separable? | No |
For this fourth application of the phrasal verb 'cut in', we are moving from one socially unacceptable behaviour to another as this one means 'to join a queue in the middle'.
The word 'queue' is a funny one in English as it is pronounced like the letter 'q' (/kjuː/) and is used in British English to talk about a line of people waiting for something. In American English, the word 'line' is used instead here, although the word 'queue' is used on both sides of the Atlantic in digital and technical contexts.
Have you ever been in a situation in which you have been waiting patiently in a queue (or line) for a few minutes when another person walks up to the queue and joins it in the middle, in front of you and other people who are waiting, instead of joining at the back? When someone does this, we use 'cut in' to describe this disrespectful and annoying behaviour.
Example sentences....
We’d been waiting for twenty minutes when a man cut in ahead of us.
Don’t cut in; everyone else has been waiting their turn.
Anne cut in near the front of the queue and pretended not to notice the people behind her.
I saw two teenagers cut in while everyone else was waiting patiently.
Excuse me, you can’t just cut in. The back of the queue is over there.
A woman cut in in front of me at the supermarket checkout.
People were getting annoyed because several others had cut in.
If you cut in, someone will probably tell you to go to the back of the queue.
He cut in halfway along the queue because his friends were already standing there.
For those of you learning American English, you should note that this one is more common there than in British English and it is particularly common to say 'cut in line'. Also, when a person cuts in like this, an American English speaker is likely to say "hey, you cut in!", while in British English someone may say "you pushed in!" or "you jumped the queue!".
Example sentences....
A kid cut in line in front of us.
Everyone got annoyed when he cut in line.
You can’t just cut in line just because your friend is up front.
MEANING 5: To include someone in something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To include |
Separable? | Yes |
The next of our applications of the phrasal verb 'cut in' is one that is much more positive and socially acceptable than the previous two and means 'to include someone in something'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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With this application of 'cut in', we are focussing on the idea of things that people do together and there are two main areas in which this application is used: making money and games.
When we use 'cut in' to talk about making money, we are referring to profits and money that is earned through a business endeavour. If a business makes a profit and there is more than one person involved in it, the profits may be shared between those people. We can use 'cut in' here to talk about when a person is allowed to be included in this group and can therefore receive a share of the profits
Grammatically speaking, this usage is unlike the others that we have covered as it is transitive and separable. The name of the person who is allowed to be included (or their pronoun) goes between the words 'cut' and 'in'. Also, you should note that the additional preposition 'on' is required here to state what the person is allowed to be included in, giving us the structure 'to cut someone in on something'.
Example sentences....
If the deal goes through, we’ll cut you in for ten per cent of the profits.
The business owner agreed to cut me in if I helped him find a buyer.
They made a fortune from the deal but refused to cut us in.
I’ll cut you in on the profits if you help me get the business started.
She wanted to be cut in on the deal before she agreed to invest.
Why should we cut him in when he hasn’t contributed anything?
They promised to cut her in on any money they made from the project.
He only agreed to provide the information after they offered to cut him in.
The three partners agreed to cut the new investor in on future profits.
Less commonly, you can also hear 'cut in' being used to talk about games, particularly card games and those involving gambling. For instance, if someone cuts you in on a game of cards, they allow you to participate and include you in the next game.
With both of these two examples of allowing people to be included in games and profits, we are again returning to this core idea of entering something from the outside, with this particular example being when a person requires permission to be able to enter or be included.
Example sentences....
Can you cut me in on the next game?
We’ve got room for one more player, so we can cut you in.
They were playing poker, and I asked them to cut me in.
If you’re starting another round, cut me in this time.
Jake arrived halfway through the card game, so we cut him in at the start of the next round.
“Are you playing for money?” “Yeah. Want us to cut you in?”
MEANING 6: To paint the edges on a wall
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To paint |
Separable? | No |
We've now come to the final meaning of the phrasal verb 'cut in' and this one is a simple one as it just means 'to paint the edges on a wall'.
If you have ever painted a wall in your house before, you will know that the first thing that many people do when they start painting is to use a brush to paint around the edges of the wall. This includes along the ceiling, around the windows and door frames and along the skirting boards / baseboards. We refer to this initial painting around the edges of the wall simply as "cutting in".
Once the painter has finished the cutting in, he or she may then start using a roller to paint the larger sections in the middle of the wall. Of course, the order is not set in stone and you can do the cutting-in after painting the middle of the walls if you so wish.
Like the majority of other applications, this one is intransitive and not separable. It is also common to hear someone refer to this using the noun 'cutting in' (as I already have done).
Example sentences....
Cut in around the edges of the wall before you start using the roller.
I’ve cut in around the windows, so I’m ready to roll the walls now.
Use a small brush to cut in along the ceiling.
She spent ages cutting in around the door frames.
You don’t need masking tape if you’re confident cutting in with a brush.
I did the cutting-in first and then used a roller to paint the rest of the wall.
We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'cut in' more confidently and naturally.
Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'cut in' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media.
Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills?Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... |
Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊
THE END
Thank you for the in-depth look at the phrasal verb 'cut in', interesting article!