Phrase guide

rough 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.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The second of three stages of offline editing of a film, recognizable as a conventional film but having notable defects such as incomplete narrative flow and missing visual or sound effects.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: broadcasting, film, media, television

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A poor quality reproduction of an illustration in a printed work.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the first print of a movie after preliminary editing

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: movie, film, picture, moving picture, moving-picture show, motion picture, motion-picture show, picture show, pic, flick

History

Etymology

From the early days of filmmaking when film stock was physically cut and reassembled.