Phrase · B2 · Neutral · common in personal and business contexts
cut back
kut BAK Stress back; cut is irregular: cut–cut–cut, with cutting as the -ing form.
Reduce how much you spend, use, consume, produce, or do.
smanjiti; skresati; ograničiti potrošnju ili količinu
Use it
I’m trying to cut back on coffee after lunch.
On introduces the thing consumed or done less often.
The company cut overtime back by fifteen percent without reducing salaries.
The separable form directly reduces a named amount or activity.
Build the sentence
cut back on + activity/substance/cost · cut something back (by/to an amount)
Memory scene
Scissors trim a tall bar chart down to a shorter height: less remains, but it is not necessarily gone.
Watch out
Use cut back on when no direct object sits between the verb and particle. In cut something back, a pronoun goes in the middle: cut it back. Cutting back means reducing, not always stopping completely.
Nearby language
The direct neutral verb; cut back often suggests a deliberate response to cost, health, or scarcity.
Very close in everyday English, especially for habits, food, drink, or smoking.
Usually means eliminate completely, which is stronger than cut back.
Make it yours
Troškovi putovanja su previsoki, pa firma želi da putuje manje, ali ne i da potpuno ukine putovanja.