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
Tatiana Schlossberg, New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2025
Still, Kansas never slowed, whittling Duke’s margin to five on three consecutive possessions midway through the second half… only for Scheyer’s squad to respond each time.
—Brendan Marks, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025
Heule used a computational Swiss Army knife called satisfiability, or SAT, to whittle them into submission.
—Quanta Magazine, 10 Nov. 2025
According to the announcement, TDE Films whittled the pool of applicants to 25 finalists before identifying the five recipients whose work demonstrated distinct narrative voices, emotionally resonant characters and culturally meaningful perspectives.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
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Verb
My leg muscles wasted and my arms seemed whittled into bone.
—Tatiana Schlossberg, New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2025
Still, Kansas never slowed, whittling Duke’s margin to five on three consecutive possessions midway through the second half… only for Scheyer’s squad to respond each time.
—Brendan Marks, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025
Heule used a computational Swiss Army knife called satisfiability, or SAT, to whittle them into submission.
—Quanta Magazine, 10 Nov. 2025
According to the announcement, TDE Films whittled the pool of applicants to 25 finalists before identifying the five recipients whose work demonstrated distinct narrative voices, emotionally resonant characters and culturally meaningful perspectives.
—Okla Jones, Essence, 23 Oct. 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 27 Nov. 2025.
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