whittle

noun whit·tle \ ˈhwi-tᵊl , ˈwi- \

|Updated on: 20 Aug 2018

Definition of whittle

archaic

: a large knife

Recent Examples of whittle from the Web

Whittle fed Hartshorn and then scored back-to-back free-position goals, including her 200th career goal.

— katherine dunn, baltimoresun.com, "Maryland women hold off Johns Hopkins, 19-16, to advance to Big Ten final," 5 May 2017
Whittle down the big idea, ratchet it up a notch, and repeat to a beat—fight the power, and imagine all the people living life in peace, because God is a d.j.

— matthew trammell, The New Yorker, "Polarized Punks," 7 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'whittle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of whittle

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

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First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

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whittle

verb

Definition of whittle

whittled; whittling play \ˈhwit-liŋ, ˈwit-; ˈhwi-tᵊl-iŋ, ˈwi-\

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

play \ˈhwit-lər, ˈwit-; ˈhwi-tᵊl-ər, ˈwi-\ noun

See whittle defined for English-language learners

See whittle defined for kids

Examples of whittle in a Sentence

He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.
She whittled a walking stick from a maple tree branch.

Recent Examples of whittle from the Web

President Trump's pick for the next Supreme Court justice is due in four short days, and his list of 25 candidates to fill the seat of the retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy seems to have whittled down to about half a dozen.

— aaron blake, Washington Post, "The best argument for and against each Trump Supreme Court candidate," 5 July 2018
Portuguese banks are still trying to whittle down their stocks of bad loans and focusing on streamlining their businesses after the financial crisis.

— anabela reis, Bloomberg.com, "Small Portuguese Firms Are Starting a New Trend," 25 June 2018
In an effort to address all the leaks emanating from the Trump administration, there are plans afoot to slowly whittle down the White House communications team (according to the latest batch of leaks).

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Sarah Sanders, Raj Shah Latest Trump Staffers Said to Be Eyeing Exit," 13 June 2018
Canada and Mexico have three host cities apiece approved for selection, while the U.S. has submitted a list of 17 finalists, which is expected to be whittled down to 10 by 2021.

— tim hackett, SI.com, "Potential USA, Canada and Mexico Cities That Will Host the 2026 World Cup," 13 June 2018
Passing even some spending bills would help whittle down the size of legislation carrying the remainder, diminishing the chances that Mr. Trump would balk at signing it.

— natalie andrews, WSJ, "GOP Cancels Most of Senate’s August Recess," 5 June 2018
Now, as the company prepares to go public and is cutting its losses, Uber has had to whittle down its international footprint.

— johana bhuiyan, Recode, "Here’s how Uber compares against Didi around the world," 5 June 2018
The Falcons were able to whittle away some of that advantage in the third quarter but a 16-6 edge by the Big Red in the final eight minutes put this one out of reach for the Falcons.

— john snodgrass, Cincinnati.com, "CMAC schools Woodward, Hughes headed to boys basketball district finals," 4 Mar. 2018
According to the Journal the list has already been whittled down to a half-dozen names, and people involved in the White House process expect an announcement before Trump departs for the NATO summit that begins in Brussels on July 11.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump’s Anthony Kennedy Strategy Was Calculated, With None of His Trademark Chaos," 29 June 2018

First Known Use of whittle

1552

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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WHITTLE Defined for English Language Learners

whittle

verb

Definition of whittle for English Language Learners

: to cut or shape (a piece of wood) by cutting small pieces from it : to make or shape (something) from a piece of wood by cutting small pieces from it