as in to cut
to cause to diminish gradually by or as if by cutting off bits with a knife
He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.
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Recent Examples of whittle
Some media members also questioned his decision to play 11 different players in what wound up being a one-point loss, particularly since coaches tend to whittle their rotations down by this point in the playoffs.
—
Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
Barring withdrawals, the race will feature a preliminary election in September that would whittle the field down to eight candidates for the general election.
—Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald, 8 June 2025
The stories were prose-poem length, whittled to the bone.
—Danielle Ofri, New Yorker, 7 June 2025
Friday was the day that attorneys for the prosecution and defense would further question the 43 men and women from the jury pool, whittling that group down to 12 jurors and six alternates by exercising their peremptory strikes.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Bryan Toporek, Forbes.com, 9 June 2025
Barring withdrawals, the race will feature a preliminary election in September that would whittle the field down to eight candidates for the general election.
—Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald, 8 June 2025
The stories were prose-poem length, whittled to the bone.
—Danielle Ofri, New Yorker, 7 June 2025
Friday was the day that attorneys for the prosecution and defense would further question the 43 men and women from the jury pool, whittling that group down to 12 jurors and six alternates by exercising their peremptory strikes.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittle
Verb
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Both headphones are astonishingly quiet, virtually eliminating lower drone sounds, cutting higher frequency noises like key clicks, and even erasing piercing sounds like dogs barking with a bit of music.—
Ryan Waniata,
Wired News,
9 July 2025
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To pay for these initiatives, the law cuts Medicaid and food stamps — programs relied upon by poor households with children — by more than $1 trillion.—
MORIAH BALINGIT,
Chicago Tribune,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Well the bracket that is attached to the doorframe had the screws clipped short and then pushed back into the frame.—
Darlin Tillery,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 July 2025
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An eastbound tractor-trailer then clipped the blade, Allman said.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
2 July 2025
Verb
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Nvidia then pared its gains but finished the day up by 1.8%, putting the company’s market value at just below $4 trillion.—
Lisa Eadicicco,
CNN Money,
9 July 2025
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Other agents had dismissed Weinberg as a habitual liar looking to pare down his prison sentence, but Fuller saw potential.—
Longreads,
Longreads,
8 July 2025
Verb
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As the team on the field was losing 5-1 to the Arizona Diamondbacks to drop to 47-49, the team in the front office was using its No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft on a player that experts at MLB.com listed as the 18th best available prospect.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
14 July 2025
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Saturday’s loss drops them to 43-51 and 6 1/2 games back of the final wild-card spot in the American League.—
Jacob Calvin Meyer,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 July 2025
Verb
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In the challenge to a federal subsidy program for phone and internet service, for example, the court passed up a chance to further curtail the power of federal agencies.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
12 July 2025
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To curtail Hamas’ ability to purchase weapons and pay its fighters, Israel stopped allowing cash to enter Gaza at the start of the war.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Fortune,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittle. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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