# cutoff

Pronunciation: say "KUT-awf" US /ˈkʌtˌɔf/, AUS /ˈkʌtɔːf/; UK say "KUT-of" /ˈkʌtɒf/

## Noun

1. The point at which something ends, or the limit beyond which it does not go.
   - Simple: The point where something ends, or the limit it cannot go past.
   - _Shipping is free on any order placed before the 3 p.m. cutoff._
   - _The team finished one win short of the playoff cutoff._
3. Shorts made from a pair of pants whose legs have been cut off.
   - Simple: Shorts made by cutting off the legs of long pants.
   - _He showed up to the barbecue in a pair of faded cutoffs and flip-flops._
   - _Every summer she turns a worn-out pair of jeans into cutoffs._
4. A halt in a flow of something or in an ongoing activity.
   - Simple: A stop in the flow of something, or in something that is going on.
   - _The embargo threatened a cutoff of oil shipments to the region._
   - _After the talks collapsed, the cutoff in contact between the two sides lasted for months._
5. The amount set by an operational definition as the point where one category ends and the next begins when a measure is divided into two or more groups.
   - Simple: A set number that marks where one group ends and the next begins in a test or measurement.
   - _The study used a cutoff of 25 on the depression scale to separate likely cases from the rest._
   - _The lab reports any result above the cutoff as positive._
6. A road, path, or channel that offers a shorter or quicker way to get somewhere.
   - Simple: A road, path, or waterway that is a shorter or faster way to go.
   - _Truckers use the county-road cutoff to avoid the traffic on the interstate._
   - _Boats can save an hour by taking the cutoff instead of following the river's long bend._
7. A shirt without sleeves, especially a T-shirt whose sleeves have been cut off.
   - Simple: A shirt with no sleeves, often a T-shirt with the sleeves cut off.
   - _He showed up to the pickup game in a faded cutoff that left his shoulders bare._
   - _She cut the sleeves off a concert tee and wore the cutoff to every show that summer._
8. A device that interrupts or shuts off the flow of a current.
   - Simple: A part or tool that stops a current from flowing.
   - _The space heater's tip-over cutoff kills the current the moment it falls._
   - _An automatic cutoff closes the valve if the flow through the pipe suddenly surges._
10. In poker, the player who acts immediately before the player on the button in the betting before the flop.
   - Simple: In poker, the player whose turn comes just before the player on the button in the first round of betting.
   - _Everyone at the table folded to the cutoff, who raised to steal the blinds._
   - _The cutoff called the early raise, and the button reraised behind him._
11. A device that saves steam by regulating its entry into the cylinder of an engine.
   - Simple: A part of a steam engine that saves steam by controlling how it goes into the cylinder.
   - _A worn cutoff was letting too much steam into the cylinder, and the locomotive burned through its coal._
   - _Mill owners paid extra for engines with an adjustable cutoff, since the savings in coal soon covered the cost._
12. A horizontal line printed across a page to separate one section from another.
   - Simple: A line printed across a page to keep one part apart from the next.
   - _The designer dropped a cutoff below the weather box so it would not run into the sports briefs._
   - _Old front pages relied on cutoffs and column rules rather than white space to divide the stories._

## Adjective

2. Serving as a limit, or as the point at which something ends.
   - Simple: Marking the limit or the end of something.
   - _The cutoff age for the youth league is fourteen, so Sam will play with the adults next year._
   - _Ballots that arrive after the cutoff hour will not be counted._
9. Describing the score or value that marks the line between having and not having a disease, condition, or similar state.
   - Simple: Describing the score that shows whether someone has an illness or condition.
   - _Children who scored above the cutoff score on the screening questionnaire were referred for a full assessment._
   - _The researchers asked whether the cutoff value for the blood test was too strict for older adults._

## Origin

A noun formed from the verb phrase cut off.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cutoff (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).