undercut
undercut Lexical Profile
undercut Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To offer goods or services at a lower price or rate than a competitor.
"Large online retailers can often undercut local bookshops because of their bulk purchasing power."
To weaken, diminish, or subvert the effectiveness, authority, or credibility of someone or something.
"Constant interruptions during the presentation served to undercut the speaker's authority."
To cut or wear away the lower part or base of something, leaving an overhanging portion above.
"Over centuries, the fast-moving river had undercut the sandstone bank along the bend."
• noun
A hairstyle in which the hair on the sides and back of the head is shaved or clipped very short while the hair on top is left notably longer.
"The barber suggested a modern undercut to keep his hair manageable during the summer."
A notch, groove, or recessed space created by cutting or eroding away the lower portion of a tree trunk, rock face, or manufactured material.
"The logger sawed a deep undercut into the trunk to control the direction in which the pine tree would fall."
British The tenderloin of beef located beneath the sirloin.
"The chef seasoned the undercut of beef with cracked black pepper before searing it."
• adjective
Having the lower part or underside cut away, hollowed out, or eroded.
"Hikers were warned to stay back from the edge of the undercut cliff above the river."
Word Nuance & Usage
Like its base verb "cut," "undercut" is irregular and remains "undercut" in both the past tense and past participle forms (never "undercutted"). In pronunciation, the verb form places primary stress on the final syllable (un-der-CUT), whereas the noun and adjective forms stress the first syllable (UN-der-cut).
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the late 16th century from the prefix "under-" and the verb "cut." Originally referring to the physical act of cutting away the lower part of an object (such as felling timber or carving stone), it developed its commercial sense of selling goods at a lower price than a competitor in the late 19th century.