Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - cut down

1. If you cut down on something or cut down something, you use or do less of it. He cut down on coffee and cigarettes, and ate a balanced diet... Car owners were asked to cut down travel... If you spend more than your income, can you try to cut down? PHRASAL VERB: V P on n, V P n (not pron), V P, also V n P 2. If you cut down a tree, you cut through its trunk so that it falls to the ground. A vandal with a chainsaw cut down a tree. = chop down PHRASAL VERB: V P n (not pron), also V n P