cabut

Cabut is an Indonesian verb with several related senses centered on pulling, removing, or withdrawing. In literal use, it describes physically pulling something out or uprooting it, as in cabut gigi (to pull out a tooth), cabut kabel (to unplug or pull out a cable), or cabut tanaman (to uproot plants). It can also mean to remove something by force or to extract something from its place.

In informal language, cabut is commonly used to describe leaving a place quickly or disappearing from a situation. Examples include dia cabut dari pesta (he left the party abruptly) or kita cabut sekarang (let’s leave now). The term can also convey withdrawal or disengagement, such as cabut dukungan (withdraw support) or cabut dari sebuah perjanjian (withdraw from an agreement).

An established idiom is cabut nyawa, meaning to take someone’s life or to cause death. This usage is serious and typically found in more formal or literary contexts.

The noun form cabutan exists in expressions related to drawing or selecting by chance, most notably cabutan undian (lottery draw) or hasil cabutan (the drawn result). In everyday speech, cabutan can refer to the act of drawing numbers or lots.

Originating from Malay-Indonesian usage, cabut reflects a core semantic field around detachment and removal, applied across literal, figurative, and fixed expressions.