Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Appearing to be mass-produced; identical in appearance.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to cookie cutters.
  • adjective idiomatic , (often disparaging) Looking or seeming identical; created by some standard or common means; often with the implication that the result is common, boring, or not applicable to all needs.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having the same appearance (as if mass-produced)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

cookie + cutter

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Examples

  • Not saying it's right -- although I'm of the mind that stereotypes exist for a reason; not everyone in a particular group will live up to a cookie-cutter image but apparently enough people have to create that stereotype in the first place -- but once again, it's her view and hers alone.

    Chez Pazienza: The Big Mouths of Alexandra Wallace and Gilbert Gottfried Chez Pazienza 2011

  • Not saying it's right -- although I'm of the mind that stereotypes exist for a reason; not everyone in a particular group will live up to a cookie-cutter image but apparently enough people have to create that stereotype in the first place -- but once again, it's her view and hers alone.

    Chez Pazienza: The Big Mouths of Alexandra Wallace and Gilbert Gottfried Chez Pazienza 2011

  • I know an assumption exists in certain quarters that writing programs do damage, mostly by causing a so-called cookie-cutter effect, everyone sounding the same.

    How to Write in 700 Easy Lessons 2010

  • Not saying it's right -- although I'm of the mind that stereotypes exist for a reason; not everyone in a particular group will live up to a cookie-cutter image but apparently enough people have to create that stereotype in the first place -- but once again, it's her view and hers alone.

    Chez Pazienza: The Big Mouths of Alexandra Wallace and Gilbert Gottfried Chez Pazienza 2011

  • If a cookie-cutter effect ever develops, it will come from people keeping to the manuals and how-to books.

    How to Write in 700 Easy Lessons 2010

  • I know an assumption exists in certain quarters that writing programs do damage, mostly by causing a so-called cookie-cutter effect, everyone sounding the same.

    How to Write in 700 Easy Lessons 2010

  • During my formal Stull meeting with the principal, he kept mentioning "standards-based instruction" and because I wasn't following the District's blue print, cookie-cutter pacing guide he called it a curriculum; I disagree, I wasn't covering what needed to be covered.

    Aparna Vashisht: Standardized Testing and Its Power Aparna Vashisht 2011

  • During my formal Stull meeting with the principal, he kept mentioning "standards-based instruction" and because I wasn't following the District's blue print, cookie-cutter pacing guide he called it a curriculum; I disagree, I wasn't covering what needed to be covered.

    Aparna Vashisht: Standardized Testing and Its Power Aparna Vashisht 2011

  • If a cookie-cutter effect ever develops, it will come from people keeping to the manuals and how-to books.

    How to Write in 700 Easy Lessons 2010

  • Not saying it's right -- although I'm of the mind that stereotypes exist for a reason; not everyone in a particular group will live up to a cookie-cutter image but apparently enough people have to create that stereotype in the first place -- but once again, it's her view and hers alone.

    Chez Pazienza: The Big Mouths of Alexandra Wallace and Gilbert Gottfried Chez Pazienza 2011

Comments

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  • definition: marked by lack of originality or distinction

    January 1, 2007