cut out — be suited for
To have the right qualities or abilities for a particular job, activity, or situation, often used in the negative to suggest someone is not suitable.
Say it like a native
Textbook I do not believe I possess the right temperament for management.
Native I'm just not cut out for management.
'Not cut out for' is the natural way to say you're unsuited; the formal version reads like a cover letter.
Pattern: be cut out for sth / be cut out to do sth
In use
- Despite her qualifications, she quickly realised she wasn't cut out for the pressures of corporate life.work
- While many people aspire to leadership positions, not everyone is cut out for the demands and responsibilities these roles entail.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ She's not cut out to management.
✓ She's not cut out for management. / not cut out to be a manager.
Use 'cut out FOR + noun' or 'cut out TO BE + role'.
Common collocations
(not) cut out for— for this job, for teaching, to be a nurse, for it
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 senses, which are literal (removing something physically or stopping an activity), this sense is figurative and refers to suitability or natural ability for something.
Related
- cut out (stop doing or eating something (usually for health reasons)) — 'cut out' also has the more basic meaning 'stop doing or eating something (usually for health reasons)'; this is the advanced sense.