I. cube¹ /kjuːb/ noun [countable]
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: cubus, from Greek kybos 'cube, vertebra']

1. a solid object with six equal square sides:
a sugar cube
an ice cube
Cut the meat into small cubes.

2. the cube of something the number you get when you multiply a number by itself twice, for example 4 x 4 x 4 = 64, so the cube of 4 is 64

3. American English spoken a cubicle

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. cube² verb [transitive]

1. to multiply a number by itself twice:
4 cubed is 64

2. to cut food into cubes

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

piece an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the main part:
Could I have another piece of cake?
a piece of broken glass
Emma cut the pie into eight pieces.
bit a piece. Bit is more informal than piece and is often used about smaller pieces:
The notes were written on bits of paper.
He threw a bit of wood onto the fire.
lump a small piece of something solid or firm that does not have a regular shape:
two lumps of sugar
a lump of coal
a lump of clay
scrap a small piece of paper, cloth etc that is no longer needed:
I wrote the phone number on a scrap of paper.
The dog was eating scraps of food off the floor.
strip a long narrow piece of cloth, paper etc:
a strip of cloth
The leather had been cut into strips.
sheet a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metal:
a blank sheet of paper
a sheet of aluminium
slice a thin flat piece of bread, cake, meat etc cut from a larger piece:
a slice of pizza
Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
chunk a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape – used especially about food, rock, or metal:
The fruit was cut into large chunks.
a chunk of bread
hunk a large piece with rough edges, which has been cut or has broken off a bigger piece of food, rock etc:
a big hunk of cheese
hunks of concrete
block a piece of something solid, which has straight sides:
concrete blocks
a block of cheese
a block of ice
slab a thick flat piece of stone, or of cake, meat etc:
The floor had been made from stone slabs.
a slab of beef
cube a piece that has six square sides – used especially about food:
a cube of sugar
ice cubes
wedge a piece that has a thick end and a pointed end, and is shaped like a triangle – used especially about food and metal:
a wedge of cheese
bar a block of soap, chocolate, candy, or metal, which has straight sides:
a chocolate bar
a bar of soap
gold bars worth more than £26 million
rasher British English a slice of bacon:
I usually have two rashers of bacon for breakfast.
cut to divide something into two or more pieces, especially using a knife or scissors:
Do you want me to cut the cake?
He cut off the lower branches.
snip to quickly cut something, especially using scissors:
I snipped the label off.
The hairdresser snipped away at her hair.
slit to make a long narrow cut through something, especially using a knife:
He slit the envelope open with a penknife.
She slit through the plastic covering.
slash to cut something quickly and violently with a knife, making a long thin cut:
Someone had slashed the tyres on his car.
He tried to slash his wrists.
saw to cut wood, using a saw (=a tool with a row of sharp points):
Saw the wood to the correct length.
chop to cut wood, vegetables, or meat into pieces:
Bill was outside chopping up firewood with an axe.
They chopped down the old tree.
finely chopped onion
dice to cut vegetables or meat into small square pieces:
First dice the apple into cubes.
grate to cut cheese or a hard vegetable by rubbing it against a special tool:
Grate the cheese and sprinkle it over the vegetables.
peel to cut the outside part off something such as a potato or apple:
I peeled the potatoes and put them in a saucepan.
carve to cut thin pieces from a large piece of meat:
Uncle Ray carved the turkey.
mow to cut the grass in a garden, park etc:
A gardener was mowing the lawn.
trim (also clip) to cut a small amount off something, especially to make it look neater:
He was trimming his beard.
Trim the excess fat off the meat.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

piece an amount of something that has been cut or separated from the main part:
Could I have another piece of cake?
a piece of broken glass
Emma cut the pie into eight pieces.
bit a piece. Bit is more informal than piece and is often used about smaller pieces:
The notes were written on bits of paper.
He threw a bit of wood onto the fire.
lump a small piece of something solid or firm that does not have a regular shape:
two lumps of sugar
a lump of coal
a lump of clay
scrap a small piece of paper, cloth etc that is no longer needed:
I wrote the phone number on a scrap of paper.
The dog was eating scraps of food off the floor.
strip a long narrow piece of cloth, paper etc:
a strip of cloth
The leather had been cut into strips.
sheet a thin flat piece of something such as paper, glass, or metal:
a blank sheet of paper
a sheet of aluminium
slice a thin flat piece of bread, cake, meat etc cut from a larger piece:
a slice of pizza
Cut the tomatoes into thin slices.
chunk a piece of something solid that does not have a regular shape – used especially about food, rock, or metal:
The fruit was cut into large chunks.
a chunk of bread
hunk a large piece with rough edges, which has been cut or has broken off a bigger piece of food, rock etc:
a big hunk of cheese
hunks of concrete
block a piece of something solid, which has straight sides:
concrete blocks
a block of cheese
a block of ice
slab a thick flat piece of stone, or of cake, meat etc:
The floor had been made from stone slabs.
a slab of beef
cube a piece that has six square sides – used especially about food:
a cube of sugar
ice cubes
wedge a piece that has a thick end and a pointed end, and is shaped like a triangle – used especially about food and metal:
a wedge of cheese
bar a block of soap, chocolate, candy, or metal, which has straight sides:
a chocolate bar
a bar of soap
gold bars worth more than £26 million
rasher British English a slice of bacon:
I usually have two rashers of bacon for breakfast.
fragment a small piece that has broken off something, especially something hard:
The window shattered, covering them with fragments of glass.
They found fragments of bone.
crumb a very small piece of bread, cake etc:
There were just a few crumbs left on the plate.
speck a piece of something such as dirt or dust which is so small you almost cannot see it:
She brushed the specks of dust from the table.
drop a very small amount of a liquid:
There were drops of blood on the floor.
I felt a drop of rain.
slab of rock/stone/meat

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

square a shape with four straight sides that are equal in length and four angles of 90 degrees
circle a round shape that is like an O
semicircle half a circle
triangle a shape with three straight sides and three angles
rectangle a shape with four straight sides and four angles of 90 degrees
oval a shape like a circle, but that is longer than it is wide
cylinder an object in the shape of a tube
cube a solid object with six equal square sides
pyramid a shape with a square base and four triangular sides that meet in a point at the top
sphere a shape like a ball
circular/round shaped like a circle:
a circular table
semicircular shaped like a semicircle:
a semicircular arch above the door
triangular shaped like a triangle:
sails divided into triangular sections
rectangular shaped like a rectangle:
a simple rectangular building
cylindrical shaped like a cylinder:
The statue is on top of a tall cylindrical column.
spherical shaped like a ball:
The planet Saturn is not completely spherical.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲