How to Use whittle in a Sentence

whittle

verb

• He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.
• She whittled a walking stick from a maple tree branch.
• The goal is to whittle the group down to about 50 people.
  — Tessa Duvall, The Courier-Journal, 8 Feb. 2022
• In the last few weeks, that has been whittled somewhat.
  — Rory Smith, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2023
• One of the team’s goals was to whittle down the prep time to enable a full day of shooting.
  — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 31 Aug. 2022
• That number was whittled to 11% by the time talks broke down.
  — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 21 July 2023
• The field of 64 will whittle down to 32 by the time Saturday’s slate of games is finalized.
  — Xl Media, cleveland, 16 Mar. 2022
• Reynoldsburg began to whittle away at the lead late in the third quarter, cutting it to 41-36.
  — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 13 Mar. 2022
• In the past, the magazine ranked the top 50 best restaurants in the US and whittled it down to an exclusive Hot 10 list.
  — Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Sep. 2023
• Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than when the child in The Road whittles a flute from wood.
  — Caine O'Rear, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2023
• Utah Valley then missed a dunk and the Bearcats had several chances to whittle the lead down again but missed the shots.
  — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 23 Mar. 2023
• The Titans hit a couple threes the rest of the way to whittle the deficit to single digits by halftime.
  — Todd Rosiak, Journal Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2024
• The Steering Committee met June 16 to whittle down the list of contenders.
  — Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2022
• Why not whittle your waistline and stay hydrated at the same time?
  — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 19 July 2022
• His potential backer sent him away four times to whittle down the costs.
  — Elaine Pofeldt, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2022
• Healthy Beauty Awards slathered them on in all types of weather to whittle down the best sunscreens for using head-to-toe.
  — Lori Keong, SELF, 1 June 2021
• Boston roared to a 32-point third-quarter lead that was whittled to 12 during the fourth quarter.
  — Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Apr. 2023
• Tuesday marks the last day teams could whittle their rosters to 53 players for the impending Week 1 slate of games.
  — Gabe Zaldivar, USA TODAY, 29 Aug. 2023
• Cleveland opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run to stretch their lead to 17, erasing the work Detroit did in the second and third to whittle a blowout deficit down to two points.
  — Detroit Free Press, 9 Feb. 2023
• Its single focus at the moment is to whittle down its $30 billion-plus net debt load to the mid-$20 billion range.
  — Jinjoo Lee, WSJ, 11 May 2021
• Last week, Gold-Williams said the utility would look for ways to whittle down the expense over a 10-year period.
  — Diego Mendoza-Moyers, San Antonio Express-News, 22 Feb. 2021
• Once all names are submitted, the Dulles Greenway will whittled the down and the public will then get to vote on their favorites.
  — Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY, 11 May 2023
• The Senate turned hard against Allen in 1975 as his filibuster of the effort to whittle away at the filibuster carried on.
  — Zachary B. Wolf, CNN, 23 Jan. 2022
• The deadline for voters to submit their primary ballots is Aug. 10, which will whittle down the pool to four.
  — Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 24 July 2021
• There are many things to keep in mind when searching for the tool that will give you the right amount of lift, but these criteria are helpful to whittle down your options.
  — Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 19 Sep. 2022
• Once the four regions whittle down their combatants, only one team will emerge from each.
  — Jason Kurtz, CNN, 15 Mar. 2021
• Of note, many of those key planks are now at the center of areas moderates want to whittle down, or tweak structurally.
  — Phil Mattingly, CNN, 24 Sep. 2021
• Then, dream big, but whittle down your initial projects to a very modest trial garden.
  — baltimoresun.com, 3 Feb. 2022
• The coaches are currently in the midst of overseeing the Battles of season 23 — whittling their teams down to groups of just six singers each to advance to the Knockouts.
  — Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 3 Apr. 2023
• For the past several years, 15 songs have been chosen for the shortlist and members whittle the number down to a final five.
  — Jon Burlingame, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024

Last Updated: 3 May 2024