cutter, small, speedy sailing vessel similar to a sloop. It has a single mast rigged fore and aft, carrying a mainsail and at least two headsails. Its traditional hull design, deep and narrow, features a raking transom stern, a vertical stem, and a long bowsprit. In U.S. Coast Guard usage, the term cutter refers to a Coast Guard vessel more than 83 feet (25 metres) long and not classed as an auxiliary vessel.
In naval usage, a cutter is a transom-sterned utility boat, usually propelled by oars or motor and capable of being taken aboard a ship.