cut down

phrasal verbphr v

a) REDUCEREDUCEreduce 减少 to reduce the amount of something 减少，缩减

cut something ↔ down

Installing double-glazing will cut down the noise from traffic.

安装双层玻璃可以减少交通噪声。

By getting the design right, you can cut down on accidents.

改进设计可以减少意外事故。

b) eat/use less 少吃/少用 to eat, drink, or use less of something, especially in order to improve your health 〔尤指为了改善健康而〕少吃，少喝，减少

I’ve always smoked, but I’m trying to cut down.

我一直抽烟，但我现在尽量少抽。

Cut down on fatty foods if you want to lose weight.

如果想减肥就少吃高脂食物。

c) TAFCUTTREEtree 树 cut something ↔ down to cut through the main part of a tree so that it falls on the ground 砍倒某棵树木

d) KILLINJUREkill 杀死 cut somebody ↔ down literary to kill or injure someone, especially in a battle 〔尤指在战斗中〕杀死某人；伤害某人，击倒某人

Hundreds of men were cut down by crossbow fire.

成百上千的人被弩箭射倒。

e) MAKE SHORTERSHORT/NOT LONGreduce length 减少长度 cut something ↔ down to reduce the length of something such as a piece of writing 缩短某物，删节某物〔如文章等〕

Your essay’s too long – it needs cutting down a little.

你的文章太长了，需要删剪一些。

f) cut somebody down to sizeCRITICIZE to make someone realize that they are not as important, successful etc as they think they are 使某人有自知之明

Examples from the Corpus

cut down• Did you have to cut your dissertation down?• If you can't give up smoking completely, at least try to cut down.• The introduction's too long. Can you try and cut it down?• We've had to cut down a lot since Craig lost his job - it's been very hard for us.• They want me to cut down my article so that it'll all fit onto one page.• She's already cut down on going out and buying clothes, but she doesn't have enough money to start paying off her debts.• I'm trying to cut down on meat.• The department has overspent this year and we will have to cut down our expenses.

cut on• Nearly all interviewees claimed they had been forced to cut down on food and fuel and many reported ill health.• Because of business commitments he's cut down on his rescue work.• To try to cut down on internecine warfare, Mr Florio oversaw annual meetings at which he encouraged publishers to work together.• The thing to avoid or at least cut down on is refined sugar and the products that contain it.• Negatives: They seem to have cut down on staff recently, upon whom you must rely for beverage service.• I'm trying to cut down on the amount of coffee I drink.• As they approached the first little island, Claude cut down on the power and turned north along the shoreline.• I thought that would cut down on the risk.• Stop feeding the fish, to cut down on the waste matter being produced.

cut on• Nearly all interviewees claimed they had been forced to cut down on food and fuel and many reported ill health.• Because of business commitments he's cut down on his rescue work.• To try to cut down on internecine warfare, Mr Florio oversaw annual meetings at which he encouraged publishers to work together.• The thing to avoid or at least cut down on is refined sugar and the products that contain it.• Negatives: They seem to have cut down on staff recently, upon whom you must rely for beverage service.• As they approached the first little island, Claude cut down on the power and turned north along the shoreline.• I thought that would cut down on the risk.• Stop feeding the fish, to cut down on the waste matter being produced.

cut somebody down to size• The team wants to cut UCLA down to size.• Josh would soon cut Hank down to size.• To cut you down to size.• When the time came, he would cut him down to size.• History thus cuts man down to size by reminding him of his origins: its characteristic insight is hindsight.

→ cut down at cut1(PHRASAL VERB)

cut downChinese