verb (used with object),un·der·cut,un·der·cut·ting.
to cut under or beneath.
to cut away material from so as to leave a portion overhanging, as in carving or sculpture.
to offer goods or services at a lower price or rate than (a competing price or rate) or than that of (a competitor).
to weaken or destroy the impact or effectiveness of; undermine.
Golf. to hit (the ball) so as to cause a backspin.
Tennis. to slice (the ball) using an underhand motion.
to cut (a sound recording) with grooves too shallow or with insufficient lateral motion of the stylus.
Forestry. to cut a notch in (a tree) in order to control the direction in which the tree is to fall.
verb (used without object),un·der·cut,un·der·cut·ting.
to undercut material, a competitor, a ball, etc.
noun
a cut or a cutting away underneath.
a notch cut in a tree to determine the direction in which the tree is to fall and to prevent splitting.
a haircut for men or women in which one or both sides and often the back are shaved or cut very short, leaving longer hair at the top of the head: an undercut with a side part.
Golf. a backspin.
Tennis. a slice or cut made with an underhand motion.
Chiefly British. a tenderloin of beef including the fillet.
Dentistry. a tooth cavity prepared with a wide base for anchoring a filling securely.
adjective
having or resulting from an undercut.
Origin of undercut
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English undercutten “to cut down”; see under-, cut
Republicans made a compelling argument when they said Cunningham single-handedly managed to undercut his central premise as a candidate about honor and duty as a veteran and family man.
The Senate seats most likely to flip parties in November|Amber Phillips|October 9, 2020|Washington Post
This episode undercuts everything that came before that made Rory’s season six journey interesting.
Every episode of Gilmore Girls, ranked|Constance Grady|October 6, 2020|Vox
Meanwhile, workers are facing new threats to their livelihood from technology and automation, and a Supreme Court that has undercut the financial clout of organized labor.
What unions need from the 2020 election|Lee Clifford|September 30, 2020|Fortune
The bank agreed to pay $550 million, but it and other global lenders in the accord felt little lasting hit from markets or customers, undercutting investor fears that a guilty plea would devastate their business.
JP Morgan will pay record settlement to resolve ‘spoofing’ case against 15 traders|kdunn6|September 30, 2020|Fortune
When Sam Walton founded Walmart in 1962, he used a combination of low prices, tight margins, and scale to undercut the competition and grow it into the No.
Watch out, Bezos. Walmart+ could take millions of customers from Amazon Prime|Lance Lambert|September 15, 2020|Fortune
Plus, he already had the super trendy “undercut” hairstyle popular with the fashion forward men of today.
The Littlest Fashionista Is Just Plain Stinkin’ Cute|Justin Jones|May 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Satellite television outfits like DirectTV have undercut cable on price and signed up millions of customers.
Why Would Comcast Improve When It Could Buy Time Warner Cable Instead?|Daniel Gross|February 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Particularly once people start dying, you have to figure out how to make the humor not undercut the emotion of the piece.
Grant Heslov Is the Robin to George Clooney’s Batman|Andrew Romano|February 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There is some fair concern that Obama may well have undercut his military threats against Iran.
Obama Wins Round One on Iran|Leslie H. Gelb|December 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the photo, the ostentatious monument is undercut (literally) by a temporary stall selling wares in its niche.
Charles Marville Captures the Rebirth of 1800s Paris in New Exhibition|William O’Connor|November 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The method of getting out the coal was to "undercut" it with a pick, and then blow it loose with a charge of powder.
King Coal|Upton Sinclair
I have an undercut bead-sight which some years was allowed at Bisley as “Military,” and in other years not.
Automatic Pistol Shooting|Walter Winans
She come back at me with a kind of an undercut right under the jaw.
The Southern South|Albert Bushnell Hart
An undercut to the ball caused it, when it struck the turf, to pull off into foul ground.
Frank Armstrong at College|Matthew M. Colton
The coal must be undercut as far in as a pick or a mechanical coal-cutter will reach, for the entire width of the face.
The Boy With the U.S. Miners|Francis Rolt-Wheeler
British Dictionary definitions for undercut
undercut
verb (ˌʌndəˈkʌt, ˈʌndəˌkʌt) -cuts, -cuttingor-cut
to charge less than (a competitor) in order to obtain trade
to cut away the under part of (something)
sportto hit (a ball) in such a way as to impart backspin
noun (ˈʌndəˌkʌt)
the act or an instance of cutting underneath
a part that is cut away underneath
a tenderloin of beef, including the fillet
forestry, mainlyUS and Canadiana notch cut in a tree trunk, to ensure a clean break in felling