- cut
- cut vb Cut, hew, chop, carve, slit, slash mean to penetrate and divide something with a sharp-bladed tool or instrument (as a knife, ax, or sword).Cut is by far the most comprehensive term, for it is not only interchangeable with any other word in the group but also with any of a large number of verbs that suggest use of a specific instrument (as knife, shear, reap, or mow) or dividing in a certain way (as mince or shred) or an operation having a definite end (as prune, lop, or amputate). Often it requires an adverb to describe the process or purpose more clearly{
1cut down a tree
}{cut off dead branches
}{cut up a carcass of beef
}{cut out a paper doll
}Its extended uses are many: usually it implies a result (as separation or isolation) similar to one produced by cutting{cut off a member of the family
}{she is cut off from all her friends
}or one (as distress or pain) suggestive of a stabbing or hurting{the remark cut her to the heart
}Hew is not only more restricted in its application than cut but it carries far more explicit implications. It usually suggests the use of a heavy tool (as an ax, a sword, or chisel) which calls for the expenditure of much effort in the cutting or shaping of large, difficult, or resistent objects or material{hew them to pieces, hack their bones asunder— Shak.
}{a wall of hewn stones
}{and now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree . . . which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire— Lk 3:9
}{there's a divinity that shapes our ends, rough hew them how we will— Shak.
}Chop implies a cleaving or dividing by a quick, heavy blow (as of an ax, a cleaver, or a hatchet) or, more often, a dividing into pieces by repeated blows of this character{chop off branches of a tree
}{chop the trunk of a tree into firewood
}{chop meat into small pieces
}Carve has come to be restricted to two types of cutting. The first requires the use of special tools (as chisels and gouges) and has for its end the artistic shaping, fashioning, or adornment of a material (as stone, ivory, or wood){a sculptor carves a statue out of marble
}{the back and legs of the chair were elaborately carved
}{an exquisite ivory box carved with figures
}The second requires a sharp knife and has for its end the cutting up and especially the slicing of meat at table in pieces suitable for serving{carve a roast of beef
}{the head of the family carves the turkey
}Slit implies the making of a lengthwise cut; except that it suggests the use of a sharp clean-cutting instrument (as scissors, a scalpel, a sword, or a knife) it carries no clear connotations as to the extent of the cut in depth or in length{the surgeon slit the abdominal wall in front of the appendix
}{the long skirt was slit to the knee
}{slit a sealed envelope
}Slash also implies a lengthwise cut but usually suggests a sweeping stroke (as with a sharp sword, knife, or machete) that inflicts a deep and long cut or wound: very frequently it connotes repeated cuts and often furious or rough-and- tumble fighting{slashing desperately at his circling enemies
}{tires slashed by vandals
}
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
