Cutting tools are tools used in mechanical manufacturing for cutting and machining. The vast majority of cutting tools are for machine use, but there are also hand tools. Since the tools used in mechanical manufacturing are basically used to cut metal materials, the term "tool" is generally understood to mean a metal cutting tool. Tools used for cutting wood are called woodworking tools.

Tool materials are broadly divided into the following categories: high-speed steel, carbide, cermets, ceramics, polycrystalline cubic boron nitride, and polycrystalline diamond.