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to precut

to precut

1 4.1
To cut something before you need it
  • verb
  • /ˈpriːˌkʌt/
translation icon : precortar
  • The chef prefers to use precut vegetables to save time during dinner preparations.

Examples

  • Then I saw a fallen-apart shed or chicken coop, and then a real log cabin beyond it - hand-built, I mean, with a tin roof, not the kind you order precut in a kit from some outfit in California for $60,000 with an optional hot tub.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The "art production" sessions were highly structured and highly routinized in their activities, whether in dance or theatre, precut paper turkeys, or dittoed pumpkin pies.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Other innovations include the use of helicopters for the retrieval of logs in difficult-to-reach areas and, most recently, the use of machines instead of expensive and time-consuming carpenters to precut alcove posts.

    Academic text (1997)
  • We decided to buy the precut wood pieces for our project to make assembly easier.

  • Many craft stores offer fabric that is precut into standard sizes for convenience.

How Prepared

to precut
1 4.1
cut
1 4.9

Surface Forms

precut infinitive
precut past
precut past participle
precutting present participle
precuts third person singular

Morphology

precut = cut (transparent) = pre + cut

Adding 'pre-' to 'cut' regularly gives the meaning 'cut beforehand'.

Etymology

Precut comes from the parts pre- 'before' and cut 'to cut'. To precut something is to 'cut before' it is needed, so later work is faster and easier.