UNDERCUT (undercutting)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: undercutting   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does undercut mean? 

• UNDERCUT (noun)
  The noun UNDERCUT has 5 senses:

1. the material removed by a cut made underneath

2. the tender meat of the loin muscle on each side of the vertebral column

3. a notch cut in the trunk of tree in order to determine the direction of its fall

4. (sports) a stroke that puts reverse spin on the ball

5. a cut made underneath to remove material

  Familiarity information: UNDERCUT used as a noun is common.

• UNDERCUT (verb)
  The verb UNDERCUT has 5 senses:

1. sell cheaper than one's competition

2. cut away material from the underside of (an object) so as to leave an overhanging portion in relief

3. cut away the underpart of

4. strike (the ball) in golf, tennis, or hockey obliquely downward so as to give a backspin or elevation to the shot

5. cut obliquely into (a tree) below the main cut and on the side toward which the tree will fall

  Familiarity information: UNDERCUT used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNDERCUT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The material removed by a cut made underneath

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Hypernyms ("undercut" is a kind of...):

material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)

Derivation:

undercut (cut away the underpart of)

undercut (cut away material from the underside of (an object) so as to leave an overhanging portion in relief)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The tender meat of the loin muscle on each side of the vertebral column

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Synonyms:

tenderloin; undercut

Hypernyms ("undercut" is a kind of...):

cut; cut of meat (a piece of meat that has been cut from an animal carcass)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "undercut"):

beef tenderloin (beef loin muscle)

pork tenderloin (pork loin muscle)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A notch cut in the trunk of tree in order to determine the direction of its fall

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("undercut" is a kind of...):

notch (a V-shaped or U-shaped indentation carved or scratched into a surface)

forestry (the science of planting and caring for forests and the management of growing timber)

Derivation:

undercut (cut obliquely into (a tree) below the main cut and on the side toward which the tree will fall)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(sports) a stroke that puts reverse spin on the ball

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

cut; undercut

Context example:

cuts do not bother a good tennis player

Hypernyms ("undercut" is a kind of...):

shot; stroke ((sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand)

Domain category:

squash; squash rackets; squash racquets (a game played in an enclosed court by two or four players who strike the ball with long-handled rackets)

badminton (a game played on a court with light long-handled rackets used to volley a shuttlecock over a net)

lawn tennis; tennis (a game played with rackets by two or four players who hit a ball back and forth over a net that divides the court)

Derivation:

undercut (strike (the ball) in golf, tennis, or hockey obliquely downward so as to give a backspin or elevation to the shot)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A cut made underneath to remove material

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("undercut" is a kind of...):

cut; cutting (the act of cutting something into parts)

Derivation:

undercut (cut away the underpart of)

undercut (cut away material from the underside of (an object) so as to leave an overhanging portion in relief)

• UNDERCUT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they undercut    ... he / she / it undercuts   
Past simple: undercut   
Past participle: undercut   
-ing form: undercutting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sell cheaper than one's competition

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

undercut; undersell

Hypernyms (to "undercut" is one way to...):

sell (exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent)

"Undercut" entails doing...:

discount (give a reduction in price on)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cut away material from the underside of (an object) so as to leave an overhanging portion in relief

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "undercut" is one way to...):

cut away (remove by cutting off or away)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

undercut (a cut made underneath to remove material)

undercut (the material removed by a cut made underneath)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Cut away the underpart of

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

undercut a vein of ore

Hypernyms (to "undercut" is one way to...):

cut away (remove by cutting off or away)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

undercut (a cut made underneath to remove material)

undercut (the material removed by a cut made underneath)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Strike (the ball) in golf, tennis, or hockey obliquely downward so as to give a backspin or elevation to the shot

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "undercut" is one way to...):

hit (cause to move by striking)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

undercut ((sports) a stroke that puts reverse spin on the ball)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Cut obliquely into (a tree) below the main cut and on the side toward which the tree will fall

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "undercut" is one way to...):

cut (separate with or as if with an instrument)

"Undercut" entails doing...:

cut down; drop; fell; strike down (cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

undercut (a notch cut in the trunk of tree in order to determine the direction of its fall)

 Context examples 

Problem was, tunicamycin also blocked a key protein in human and animal cells, undercutting its potential use in the ground war on germs.

(Soil Bacterium Tapped for Penicillin Guard Duty, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

But other glaciers are being severely undercut out of sight beneath the surface, meaning they could collapse and melt much sooner.

(The Hidden Meltdown of Greenland, NASA)

He cut deep, and yet I just undercut him.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The researchers found cavities that undercut the base of these leading edges that can destabilize the ice front and enhance iceberg calving, the process where parts of the glacier break off and float away.

(The Hidden Meltdown of Greenland, NASA)