Phrase guide

deep cut

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ˈdip(ˈ)kʌt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An obscure song by a well known musician.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Topics: entertainment, lifestyle, music

Examples

  • "Dig a Pony" is my favorite Beatles deep cut.
  • 2015, "Weekend Rock Question: What’s the Best Rolling Stones Deep Cut?", Rolling Stone, 10 April
  • 2016, Nate Chinen, "Norah Jones Returns to Her Jazz Roots", The New York Times, 15 September "With luck, her tour will include the standout Neil Young cover she included on “Day Breaks” — a deep cut called “Don’t Be Denied,” from 1973."
  • 2017, Eric Renner Brown et al, "New Music Friday: 14 releases to hear now", Entertainment Weekly, 26 May "But there are surprises, too, like the spooky Live/Dead deep cut “Death Don’t Have No Mercy..."

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any obscure work, a thing likely to be recognized only by a connoisseur.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • I'm a fan of Kurosawa's films, but The Bad Sleep Well is a bit of a deep cut.
  • 2015, Vikram Murthi, "This Week in Home Video: ‘Age of Adaline’ with Blake Lively, ‘Dressed to Kill’ on Criterion, and More", IndieWire, 8 September "...there’s still an interesting batch of films on Blu-ray and DVD, like a Blake Lively vehicle, a Brian De Palma classic, and a Wes Craven deep cut."

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see deep, cut.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

A cut (track of a vinyl record) which is seen as being buried deep in an album.