Cut down meaning in English
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Definition
to cut down (on drinking): to reduce, to limit (consumption of alcohol)
-Would you like a cigarette? -No, I'm trying to cut down. Last week I was smoking twenty a day but now I only smoke at weekends.
This is an irregular verb:
I cut down / I cut down / I have cut down
to cut down (a tree): to cut or chop (a tree) so that it falls to the ground
Examples
- "But with cork's drop in popularity, Mediterranean cork forests, rich in wildlife, are being cut down to make way for less sustainable land uses, such as cattle farming."
Exercise 1
Susie wants Harold to tell the media that he has "given up bear hunting".
She wants Harold to tell the media that he has bear hunting.
She wants Harold to tell the media that he has bear hunting.
Susie wants Harold to tell the media that he has "given up bear hunting".
She wants Harold to tell the media that he has stopped bear hunting.
She wants Harold to tell the media that he has stopped bear hunting.
stopped: "To give (something) up" is a phrasal verb which has a few different meanings. In this case it means "to abandon", "to cease" or "to abstain from" bear hunting. In another context, "to give up" means "to surrender" or "capitulate" as in the sentence: "the enemy was too strong, and so we gave up without a fight".
cut down on: To "cut down" means to "diminish" or "reduce", as in the sentence "Polly has decided to cut down on coffee in the morning because it makes her nervous". This is not what Susie is asking Harold to do.
campaigned against: Susie is not asking Harold to "campaign against" bear hunting, but to "stop" bear hunting, or at least tell the press that he has stopped bear hunting.
reconsidered his views on: This is not what Susie is asking Harold to do. The phrasal verb "to give up" does not mean to "reconsider" or "rethink".
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