cut one's losses

cut one's losses

English

Verb

cut one's losses (third-person singular simple present cuts one's losses, present participle cutting one's losses, simple past and past participle cut one's losses)

1. to discontinue something to put a stop to continued losses after facing that it is unlikely it will ever bear fruit
   • 2007, Catherine Weber, A Woman's Guide to Overcoming Depression, Baker Books, →ISBN, page 47:

     But our culture has reinforced the belief that a good marriage just happens, and if it doesn't, you should simply cut your losses and move on to the next partner. After all, that's what we see in the movies.

   • 2011, Ann C. Logue, Day Trading For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 43:

     I mentioned already in this chapter that you need to cut your losses before they drag you down. No matter how much it hurts and no matter how much you believe that you are right, you need to close out a losing position and move on.

   • 2017, Meera Lester, Rituals for Life: Find Meaning in Your Everyday Moments, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 174:

     Sometimes when things are not going as you expected, it's better to cut your losses and move on than to hang on and deal with the stress, financial drain, emotional drag, and loss of time.

Translations

discontinue an effort that seems unlikely to ever bear fruit

Chinese: Mandarin: 減少損失／减少损失 (jiǎnshǎo sǔnshī) Finnish: rajata tappio French: arrêter les frais (fr) German: die Verluste begrenzen, einen harten Schnitt machen Russian: фикси́ровать убы́тки impf (fiksírovatʹ ubýtki), зафикси́ровать убы́тки pf (zafiksírovatʹ ubýtki) Spanish: cortar por lo sano (es)

Further reading

• sunk cost on Wikipedia.Wikipedia