cutting

The word “cutting” means a piece cut from a plant — a stem, leaf, or root — used to grow a new plant. In plain terms, either a piece cut off something (a plant stem, a newspaper clipping) or, as an adjective, sharply hurtful.

“Cutting” is pronounced KUH-tihng (/ˈkʌtɪŋ/ in IPA).

Here is “cutting” used in a sentence: “She took a cutting from the rose bush to grow in a pot.”

Depending on how it is used, “cutting” can be a noun and an adjective.

“Cutting” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Cutting” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a piece cut from a plant — a stem, leaf, or root — used to grow a new plant.

You take a healthy piece of stem, leaf, or root from a parent plant, then encourage it to form its own roots. Typically you trim it cleanly, sometimes dip it in rooting hormone, and place it in water or moist compost. Kept warm and damp, it gradually grows into a new plant.

A cutting is a piece taken from an existing plant that roots and grows into a genetic copy of its parent. A seedling is a young plant grown from seed, carrying a mix of traits from two parents. Cuttings clone; seedlings are new individuals, so their results can vary more.

Gardeners usually name cuttings after the part used. Stem cuttings are the most common, taken from shoots or branches. Leaf cuttings grow new plants from a single leaf, as with many succulents. Root cuttings use a section of root. Each suits different plants and times of year.