Meaning trap
cut out
stop doing or eating something (usually for health reasons)
To stop doing or eating something, especially because it is unhealthy or not good for you.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To stop doing or eating something, especially because it is unhealthy or not good for you.
Another meaning of 'cut out' is 'remove something by cutting'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- After his doctor’s advice, Mark decided to cut out sugar from his diet.health
- To improve my concentration, I had to cut out using my phone late at night.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: cut out + noun/gerund
WrongI've cut out of eating chocolate.
RightI've cut out chocolate. / I've cut chocolate out.
'Cut out + the thing' — no 'of eating'.
Patterncut out + noun/gerund
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Cut out' is everyday health talk for stopping something; 'eliminated entirely from my diet' is a nutrition leaflet.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
cut out + food/habitsugaralcoholcaffeinesnacks
Don't confuse it
'Cut out' (stop doing) is different from 'cut down on', which means to do something less often, not stop completely.
Related
- cut out (remove something by cutting) — Another meaning of 'cut out' is 'remove something by cutting'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.