ford vs cut across

ford is a noun but cut across is not a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
ford	Yes	No	Yes	No
cut across	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, cut across is a hypernym of ford; that is, cut across is a word with a broader meaning than ford:

Other hypernyms of ford include cover, cross, cut through, get across, get over, pass over, track, traverse.

ford (noun)	cut across (noun)
the act of crossing a stream or river by wading or in a car or on a horse
a shallow area in a stream that can be forded

ford (verb)	cut across (verb)
cross a river where it's shallow	cut using a diagonal line
	travel across or pass over
	be contrary to ordinary procedure or limitations