裁剪 (cái jiǎn) is a verb meaning 'to cut and sew' in tailoring or garment-making, and by extension 'to edit' — especially in digital contexts like video, audio, or text editing. The character 裁 originally means 'to cut out fabric according to a pattern' and implies judgment and selection; 剪 means 'to cut with scissors' and emphasizes the physical act of severing. Together, they convey purposeful cutting to shape, refine, or remove unwanted parts.

This word is commonly used both literally (e.g., cutting cloth for clothing) and figuratively (e.g., trimming a video clip or deleting redundant sentences from an article). It carries a connotation of skill and intention — not random cutting, but deliberate reduction for improvement or adaptation. In modern usage, it’s especially frequent in tech-related fields like multimedia production, graphic design, and content creation.