To cut or slice something (with a knife, scissors, etc.); also used for cutting tissue in surgery.
紙をハサミで切る。
Cut the paper with scissors.
木の枝をノコギリで切った。
I sawed off the tree branch.
外科医が腫瘍を切って取り出した。
The surgeon cut out the tumor.
To sever ties or connections (end a relationship or contact).
彼は昔の友人との縁を切った。
He severed ties with his old friend.
SNSで相手とのつながりを切ることにした。
I decided to cut off my connection with that person on social media.
うまくいかない相手とは縁を切るのも一つの方法だ。
Cutting ties with someone who isn't working out can be one option.
To turn off (a light, power, or device).
部屋を出るときは電気を切ってください。
Please turn off the light when you leave the room.
寝る前にテレビの電源を切った。
I turned off the TV before going to bed.
パソコンは使い終わったら必ず電源を切る。
Always shut down the computer when you're done using it.
To terminate (a conversation); to hang up the phone; to disconnect.
話が途切れたので彼女は電話を切った。
The conversation broke off, so she hung up the phone.
無駄話が続いたら上司が会話を切った。
When the idle talk went on, the boss cut the conversation short.
通話中に間違って電話を切ってしまった。
I accidentally hung up the phone during the call.
To punch or validate a ticket; to tear off a stub.
駅員が切符に鋏を入れて切った。
The station attendant punched the ticket.
コンサート会場で半券を切ってもらった。
They tore off my ticket stub at the concert venue.
To open something that is sealed (open an envelope or seal).
プレゼントの箱の封を切ると、中から手紙が出てきた。
When I opened the gift box's seal, a letter came out.
封筒の封を切って中身を確認した。
I opened the envelope and checked the contents.
ビンの封を切るのに小さなナイフを使った。
I used a small knife to break the seal on the jar.
To start or take the lead in beginning something (often in fixed expressions like 先頭を切る); somewhat idiomatic/colloquial.
彼が先頭を切ってプロジェクトを始めた。
He took the lead and started the project.
新製品の売り出しで会社が先頭を切った。
The company took the lead in launching the new product.
To set a limit (e.g., a deadline or cap); to do something within a certain time; to issue checks/vouchers.
会社は支払いの期限を来月末に切った。
The company set the payment deadline for the end of next month.
一時間を切ってゴールに到着した。
We reached the goal with less than an hour remaining.
彼は会社の口座から小切手を切って支払いを済ませた。
He issued a check from the company's account to make the payment.
To reduce or discount a price; to haggle to get a lower price (similar to 値切る).
市場で果物の値段を切ってもらった。
I got the vendor to lower the price of the fruit at the market.
セールでさらに価格を切って提示してきた。
They offered an even lower price during the sale.
その店では値段交渉でかなり切れることがある。
At that shop, you can often negotiate a much lower price.
To shake off or drain water (e.g., wring or let something drip-dry).
茹でたほうれん草の水をよく切ってから和え物にする。
After boiling spinach, drain it well before making the salad.
洗濯機で脱水してから、さらに手で水を切った。
After spinning in the washing machine, I also wrung out the water by hand.
刺身は盛り付け前に皿の水気をよく切ると見栄えが良くなる。
Draining moisture from sashimi before plating makes it look better.
To cross or traverse (to go across an area or cut across a boundary).
山道を切って谷底へ下りた。
We went down to the valley by cutting across the mountain path.
市街地を切って最短ルートで行った。
I cut through the city to take the shortest route.
To criticize sharply or to dismiss something harshly.
評論家はその映画を容赦なく切り捨てた。
The critic mercilessly tore the film apart.
彼女は部下の言い訳を一言で切ってしまった。
She dismissed her subordinate's excuse with a single remark.
To act decisively or noticeably; to go first; in kabuki, to make certain facial expressions.
彼は危機のときに率先して決断を切った。
He acted decisively in the crisis.
チームの誰も手を挙げないので、彼女が先頭を切って発言した。
Since no one on the team volunteered, she went first and spoke up.
歌舞伎の型で役者が鋭い表情を切る場面がある。
In kabuki, there are scenes where an actor makes a sharp, stylized expression.
To turn (the steering wheel) of a vehicle; to steer/turn the vehicle.
運転手が急にハンドルを切って避けた。
The driver swerved by quickly turning the wheel.
狭い路地では小さくハンドルを切る必要がある。
In a narrow alley you need to make small steering adjustments.
バイクでハンドルを切ってカーブを曲がった。
He leaned and turned the handlebars to take the curve on his motorcycle.
To give a ball a curve or spin (to curl/bend a ball) or to bend/cut something; used in some sports contexts.
ピッチャーが投げた球に鋭く切れがあった。
The pitcher's throw had a sharp break.
サッカーでシュートを切ってゴールを決めた。
He curled the shot and scored a goal.
To cut (a deck of cards); to shuffle by cutting.
ゲームを始める前に必ず誰かが山を切る。
Before starting the game, someone always cuts the deck.
彼はカードを上手に切ってから配り始めた。
He skillfully cut the cards and then began dealing.
公平のために複数人で山を切った。
To be fair, several people cut the deck.
In mahjong, to discard a tile.
彼は安全牌を切って局を続けた。
He discarded a safe tile and continued the round.
次の巡目でどの牌を切るかが重要だ。
Which tile you discard next is important.
To dismiss, sack, expel, or let someone go; to remove from a group or organization.
会社が彼を業績不振で切った。
The company fired him due to poor performance.
その会は規則違反の会員を切った。
The association expelled the member for violating rules.
チームは不祥事を起こした選手を切る決定をした。
The team decided to drop the player who caused the scandal.
To carve a groove or cut (e.g., to cut a stencil or make a groove).
木材に溝を切ってはめ込み部分を作った。
I cut a groove into the wood to make the fitting.
印刷のために版に細かく切り込みを入れた。
I cut fine incisions into the plate for printing.
To trump (to play a trump card); to use a trump in card games.
彼は切り札で勝負を決めた。
He decided the game with a trump card.
最後のトリックでスペードを切って勝った。
He trumped with spades on the final trick and won.
In go (the board game), to cut — to sever the connection between two groups of stones.
黒は白の連絡を切って形を崩した。
Black cut the white connection and disrupted its shape.
その一手で相手のつながりを完全に切った。
With that move he completely severed the opponent's connection.
To start a fire by friction or striking (archaic usage; sometimes written 鑽る).
昔は木で擦って火を切ることが生活の知恵だった。
In the past, starting a fire by rubbing wood was a household skill.
To draw a shape in the air with a sword or stick (to slash in the air).
剣士は空中に大きく円を切って見せた。
The swordsman made a large circular slash in the air to show his skill.
舞台で役者が刀で鋭く線を切る演出があった。
On stage there was a scene where the actor sharply slashed the air with a sword.
As a suffix (-切る after the -masu stem), meaning to do something completely or to finish doing it (e.g., 使い切る).
ケーキを一人で食べ切ってしまった。
I ended up finishing the whole cake by myself.
バッテリーを使い切ってスマホが落ちた。
The phone died after the battery was completely used up.
在庫を売り切るまでセールを続ける。
They'll continue the sale until the stock is sold out.
As a suffix (-切る after the -masu stem), to indicate being completely or utterly in a state (e.g., 疲れ切る = to be utterly exhausted).
彼は試験の後で疲れ切って眠ってしまった。
After the exam he was so exhausted that he fell asleep.
彼女は心配し切っていたが、結果を聞いて安心した。
She had been completely worried, but felt relieved when she heard the result.
仕事でくたくたに疲れ切った日々が続いた。
Days of being exhausted from work continued.
As a suffix (-切る after the -masu stem), to do something decisively or to state something unequivocally (e.g., 言い切る).
彼はそれが正しいと最後まで言い切った。
He maintained until the end that it was correct.
私はこの計画は失敗すると言い切るつもりはないが、慎重に進めるべきだ。
I'm not going to flatly say this plan will fail, but we should proceed cautiously.
彼女はきっぱりと断って言い切った。
She refused firmly and stated it outright.