† 1. trans. To cut down or cut off. Obs.
1382. Wyclif, Isaiah xxxviii. 12. Kut of is as of a weuere my lif; whil ȝit I weuede, he under kutte me.
2. To cut (away) below or beneath.
1598. Florio, Sottotagliare, to vnder-cut.
1725. Fam. Dict., s.v. Turfing Spade, Its of very great Use to some to undercut the Turf, after it is mark’d out with the Trenching Plough.
1881. J. Geikie, Prehist. Europe, 71. Cliffs of homogeneous composition are often undercut by streams.
1883. Gresley, Gloss. Coal-m., 135. Hole, to undercut a seam of coal, &c., by chipping away the coal, &c., with a pick.
b. spec. To cut or carve so as to leave the upper or exposed portion larger than the under or hidden part.
1874. Ruskin, Val D’Arno (1886), 14. He has undercut his Madonna’s profile … too delicately for time to spare.
1875. Sir T. Seaton, Fret-Cutting, 61. You must now commence to back carve the whole; that is to say, to undercut the leaves, stems, and branches.
c. Golf. To strike (a ball) below the center, causing it to rise high in the air.
1891. Cent. Dict.
3. To supplant by working for lower wages or payment, or by selling at lower prices.
1884. Manch. Exam., 30 July, 5/2. We do not want the Post Office to ‘undercut’ private agencies at the expense of the national taxpayer.
1886. Mrs. Lynn Linton, in Fortn. Rev., Oct., 500. They are able to undercut the men, and can afford to work for less.
