Meanings
-
1
noun
a tool or machine used for cutting a particular material
She used a glass cutter to score a straight line across the pane.
-
2
noun
a person whose occupation involves cutting material such as stone, cloth, or film
The stone cutter shaped each block before it reached the mason.
-
3
noun
a fast, single-masted sailing vessel with its mast set relatively far aft
The cutter sailed close to the wind as it rounded the headland.
-
4
noun
a small boat carried by a larger ship or used by a coastguard or other public service
A rescue cutter approached the disabled vessel before dusk.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Middle English cutter, an agent noun from cut + -er. The name first applied broadly to a person or thing that cuts. The sailing-vessel sense probably refers to a boat that cuts swiftly through the water and later extended to service craft such as revenue and coastguard cutters.