whittle

1 of 2

verb

whit·​tle ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl How to pronounce whittle (audio)
whittled; whittling ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl-iŋ How to pronounce whittle (audio)
ˈ(h)wit-liŋ
Synonyms of whittlenext

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

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
whittler
ˈ(h)wit-lər
ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl-ər How to pronounce whittle (audio)
noun

whittle

2 of 2

noun

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
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Verb
The show was ably organized by Evans, who whittled the initial selection from Bachardy’s prodigious archive, with Dennis Carr, Huntington chief curator of American art, and Karla Nielsen, the library’s senior curator of literary collections. — Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025 Those responses would be collected and reviewed as both parties whittle the enormous pool of people down to just 12 jurors and a handful of alternates. — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2025 The Grizzlies opened a 10-point lead at 49-39 with 4:40 to play, but the Crusaders whittled the deficit to three and had the ball with 25 seconds to play. — John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Feb. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for whittle

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English whittel, alteration of thwitel, from thwiten to whittle, from Old English thwītan; akin to Old Norse thveita to hew

First Known Use

Verb

1552, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of whittle was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing whittle

Rhymes for whittle

See All Rhymes for whittle

Browse Nearby Words

whittie-whattie
whittle
whittle away
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Whittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whittle. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.

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Kids Definition

whittle

verb
whit·​tle
ˈhwit-ᵊl,
ˈwit-
whittled; whittling
-liŋ,
-ᵊl-iŋ
1
a
: to shave or cut off chips from the surface of wood with a knife
b
: to shape or form by so shaving or cutting
2
: to reduce gradually : pare
whittle down expenses
whittler
-lər
-ᵊl-ər
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on whittle

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for whittle

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