Definition of whittle
archaic
: a large knife
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Recent Examples of whittle from the Web
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Whittle fed Hartshorn and then scored back-to-back free-position goals, including her 200th career goal.
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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.
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
Definition of whittle
whittled;
whittling
play
\ˈhwit-liŋ, ˈwit-; ˈhwi-tᵊl-iŋ, ˈwi-\
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
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
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Members of the Harford County Board of Education are about to begin whittling down applications to become the next superintendent.
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Around 75 contestants survived the lines of 10 and group performances last week, and Sunday night’s episode whittled the competition down to the top 50.
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Even the Jackson 5 was whittled down to just Michael Jackson.
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The group of cities was whittled down to 20 top contenders earlier this year, and Boston made that list.
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Park administrators have discussed dozens of possible uses for the property and have whittled the list down to about six.
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An independent panel of supporters and club historians whittled down a shortlist for fans to vote on ahead of the exhibition's launch event and the club released the results on their official website on Wednesday.
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Additionally, a recent report from Moody’s shows that the U.S. is whittling its tax base just as its interest expenses surge.
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That triggered a 9-2 run that whittled ACS's 21-point lead to 11, 52-41.
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.
First Known Use of whittle
1552
WHITTLE Defined for English Language Learners
whittle
Definition of whittle for English Language Learners
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: 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
WHITTLE Defined for Kids
Definition of whittle for Students
whittled;
whittling
1
: to cut or shave off chips from wood : shape by cutting or shaving off chips from wood
2
: to reduce little by little
- They are trying to whittle down their spending.
Learn More about whittle
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See words that rhyme with whittle Spanish Central: Translation of whittle Nglish: Translation of whittle for Spanish speakers
Seen and Heard
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