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Glite Dictionary
✂️ To remove part 🎬 To switch scenes 💔 To weaken spirit
to cut away

to cut away

3 6.8
To switch quickly to another scene or camera angle during filming
  • phrasal verb
  • /kʌt əˈweɪ/
  • Jargon
translation icon : cortar a
  • We cut away to see Beatrice walking slowly through olive trees, wearing a red dress and sunglasses.
  • cut away to the camera
  • cut away to a scene

We don't want to air Donald Trump's campaign, so we're just going to cut away from it.

Examples

  • I happened to be watching Fox News when they cut away from their regular schedule to cover this rally.

    Blog text (33)

  • QVC cut away to a shot of the product, but Hughes just kept on selling.

    Blog text (29)

  • We cut away to the scene of the murder.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Then they cut away to a commercial.

    Blog text (32)

  • You just cut away to another character.

    Blog text (27)

  • And even with their live coverage, they tend to cut away during the dull parts.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • We cut away to a shot of Jasperino holding Bottle 'M' in his hand.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Although you'll notice throughout the segment, the editors cut away so that you don't actually see the ball being thrown and caught in the same shot.

  • We cut away to a scene in which Jasperino looks on as Alsemaro asks Beatrice to sample the potion in Bottle 'M'.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • During the broadcast, the producer decided to cut away to a different scene to maintain viewer interest.

Synonyms

to cut to
vsto cut away
  • Jargon
88 5.1

Move suddenly from one scene to another in a film or TV show

switches briefly away to a different angle or short shot

Antonyms

to linger
207 3.7

To stay in a place longer than expected because you do not want to leave

How Abrupt

to cut away
  • Jargon
3 6.8
to cut to
  • Jargon
88 5.1
to fade
531 1.2
dissolve
  • Specialized
4 6.6

Surface Forms

cut away infinitive
cut away past
cut away past participle
cutting away present participle
cuts away third person singular

Morphology

cut + away

The meaning is directly compositional: 'cut' (remove/reduce) combined with the particle 'away' (off/away from) yields the sense of removing or lessening something. This verb+particle pattern is standard in English and applies to tangible and intangible items, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reasonably infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Cut away comes from film work. Imagine a camera that cuts from one shot and moves away to show a different scene or angle, so the phrase means 'to switch quickly to another scene or view'.