whit·tle
ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl 
whittled; whittling
ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl-iŋ
ˈ(h)wit-liŋ
1
a
: to pare or cut off chips from the surface of (wood) with a knife
b
: to shape or form by so paring or cutting
2
: to reduce, remove, or destroy gradually as if by cutting off bits with a knife : pare
whittle down expenses
1
: to cut or shape something (such as wood) by or as if by paring it with a knife
2
: to wear oneself or another out with fretting
archaic
: a large knife
Examples of whittle in a Sentence
Verb
He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.
She whittled a walking stick from a maple tree branch.
Recent Examples on the Web
Karri Peifer, Axios, 3 Apr. 2025
Final sticking points: Veteran pay increases, planning time, evaluations
CTU’s slate of 700 asks from mid-April was whittled to just three sticking points last week.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025
Subsequent stopgap government funding measures have whittled the original $80 billion down by as much as half.
—David Lawder, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
His two scoreless, hitless innings whittled his ERA to 2.77.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
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Verb
The program's delegates gathered ideas (nearly 2,000 in all) for months, whittled them down to a handful for each city voting district, and now have turned the final list of possible projects back to the people to vote on.
—Karri Peifer, Axios, 3 Apr. 2025
Final sticking points: Veteran pay increases, planning time, evaluations
CTU’s slate of 700 asks from mid-April was whittled to just three sticking points last week.
—Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025
Subsequent stopgap government funding measures have whittled the original $80 billion down by as much as half.
—David Lawder, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
His two scoreless, hitless innings whittled his ERA to 2.77.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 19 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Cite this Entry
“Whittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whittle. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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