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cut up

B1 neutral separable both
In simple words

To slice something into pieces, to feel or make someone feel very sad and upset, or to clown around.

Literal meaning: To cut something so that it ends up in multiple pieces.

Meanings

1 A2 neutral

To cut something into pieces or smaller parts.

"He cut up the vegetables and added them to the pot."

Grammar: separable
2 B2 idiomatic informal

To cause someone to feel deeply upset, distressed, or grieved (usually passive: 'be cut up').

"He was really cut up about losing his job after fifteen years with the company."

Grammar: separable
3 B2 idiomatic informal

American informal: to behave in a silly, mischievous, or comical way.

"The kids were cutting up at the back of the class and the teacher had to stop the lesson."

Grammar: inseparable
4 B2 idiomatic informal

British informal: to drive dangerously by suddenly moving in front of another vehicle.

"A white van cut me up on the roundabout, nearly causing an accident."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

The 'emotionally upset' sense is usually passive or adjectival: 'she was really cut up about it'. The 'clowning around' sense is mainly American informal English. The literal sense is very common in cooking.

Commonly used with

vegetables paper about the news clown emotionally grief

Forms

Base
cut up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
cuts up
he/she/it
Past simple
cut up
yesterday
Past participle
cut up
have + pp
-ing form
cutting up
continuous

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