to cut back on
75
3.2
- phrasal verb
- /kʌt bæk ɑn/
:
reducir
- I thought we were cutting back on sugar.
- cut back on spending
- cut back on expenses
- cut back on expenditures
Oh, this means I get to eat meat and I will cut back on my grains and dairy.
- Oh, this means I get to eat meat and I will cut back on my grains and dairy.
- Great good time to cut back on police in a city rampant with crime.
- And the government's like, hey, don't cut back on spending.
- On top of this, high prices send an important economic signal to consumers, encouraging them to cut back on consumption when prices are high.
- As people cut back on meat and dairy, sadly, they don't start eating more lentils and broccoli.
- And I told him to basically cut back on animal products and focus more on plant foods.
- That's why it's pretty much always easier to cut back on expenses than it is to try to make more money.
- And so the most modern diets will tell you to cut back on the amount of food that you eat each day and to eat multiple small meals.
- OK so this next one is titled Am I the asshole for asking my girlfriend to cut back on her messy hobby?
Examples
-
To save money, we decided to cut back on our dining out expenses.
-
Revenue problems have forced us to cut back on equipment.
-
And so they cut back on their oil production.
-
You see, in these hard times, we cut back on so many things.
-
We significantly cut back on federal housing.
-
I have two kids so just having to really cut back on work to help with childcare at home.
-
The new Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands has chosen to cut back on stop and search in the West across the region.
-
A Denver elementary school recently had to cut back on the grade levels it serves.
Academic text (2007) -
As free credit and government subsidies dried up, industrial plants began to cut back on production.
Academic text (1991) -
And as U.S. Consumers cut back on spending, Chinese manufacturers see sales plummet.
Synonyms
644
1.0
Use less of something to avoid waste
169
2.9
To reduce how much you buy and use to save money and be healthier
95
2.6
Cut something to make it smaller or neater
65
2.7
To make something smaller in amount or number
30
3.0
To spend less money to save or make more money
14
4.1
Make something, like a taste, sound, or plan, less strong
3
3.4
To make something smaller by cutting or removing parts
1
3.4
Make a thing smaller by cutting or removing parts
1
4.3
To spend less money to save or avoid debt
1
3.0
Use less fuel to lower your costs
To cut spending by removing unnecessary costs from a budget
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to reduce' is directly derivable from combining 'cut' (to reduce) with the particle 'back' (indicating a retreat or reduction) while 'on' marks the target of reduction. This verb+particle+preposition pattern is common and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will very likely infer the meaning.
Etymology
Cut back on comes from the image of cut and back: think of cutting branches or hair back to make them shorter and smaller. So the phrase means 'to reduce' or 'use less' of something.