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Glite Dictionary
to cut down to size

to cut down to size

3 6.7
To make someone less proud by showing they are not as good as they think
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : poner en su lugar
  • Cut me down to size.
  • want to cut down to size

Examples

  • And he was humbled, cut down to size, repaid in his own coin.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • It's time we cut him down to size *

    Man of the Year (2006)

  • OK, so, so this thing is it really cuts you down to size really fast.

  • Well, that cuts him down to size!

    Blog text (24)

  • No wonder so many Congressmen want to cut them down to size.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Periodically, it was necessary to cut her down to size.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • See, this is why CARB needs to be cut down to size.

    Blog text (6)

  • I might be alone in this view, but I feel the story makes an obvious point of cutting him down to size here, short of killing him, because he really appears to be a spent force.

    Blog text (20)

  • I think it's everything we need, and don't tell me I'm the only one... that thinks Sam White's little movement needs to be cut down to size.

    Dear White People (2014)

  • It's important to cut down to size anyone who thinks they are better than others.

Synonyms

to diminish
vsto cut down to size
89 4.7

Make a person or thing seem less important

targets personal arrogance by proving they are not as impressive as believed
to humble
vsto cut down to size
58 5.3

To make someone feel less proud or important

uses demonstration of lower impressiveness specifically to curb arrogance
to overshadow
vsto cut down to size
48 5.9

To make someone or something seem less important compared with another

reduces arrogance by showing they are not as impressive, not only by comparison
to dwarf
vsto cut down to size
37 4.9

To make someone or something seem much smaller by comparison

reduces pride by proving they are not as impressive rather than size alone
to eclipse
vsto cut down to size
31 6.0

To make someone or something seem less important by comparison

focuses on lowering arrogance through showing lesser impressiveness rather than outshining
to deflate
vsto cut down to size
20 4.6

To make someone feel less confident or important

focuses on showing they are not as impressive to reduce arrogance
to shadow
vsto cut down to size
7 5.3

To make someone or something seem less important by comparison

is about actively teaching a lesson to lower arrogant beliefs, not only comparison
to knock down a peg
vsto cut down to size
  • Informal
3 7.6

Make someone feel less proud by criticizing or embarrassing them

shows someone is less impressive rather than openly humiliating them

Antonyms

to elevate
  • Formal
52 4.4

To give someone a higher job or rank

to inflate
47 4.2

To make something seem more important or bigger than it really is

How Humbled

to humiliate
  • Offensive
414 6.1
to cut down to size
  • Informal
3 6.7
to humble
58 5.3
to put in one's place
  • Informal
9 7.2
to criticize
701 3.3
to tease
245 1.9

Surface Forms

cut down to size infinitive
cutting down to size present participle
cuts down to size third person singular
cut down to size past
cut down to size past participle

Morphology

cut + down + to + size

The verb 'cut down' conveys reduction and 'size' relates to scale, so a learner might infer a general sense of making something smaller; the literal components give a partial clue. However, the specific social sense of humiliating or humbling someone (reducing their arrogance) is a metaphorical extension not fully predictable from the parts for an average B1 learner, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

The idiom cut down to size may come from the image of literally cutting something down to size—like trimming a tall tree or cutting cloth so it becomes smaller. So, when someone is cut down to size, it means 'to show someone they are not as important or impressive as they think'.