whittle

1 of 2

noun

whit·​tle ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl 

archaic

: a large knife

whittle

2 of 2

verb

whittled; whittling

ˈ(h)wit-liŋ,

ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl-iŋ 

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

ˈ(h)wit-lər

ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl-ər 

noun

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

Verb

An autumn that began with national championship dreams has now been whittled to the Rob Gronkowski Bowl or bust, and the aftermath of this final dagger on Saturday night was absolutely heartbreaking. —Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2023

The startup, valued by investors last year at $3.8 billion, had already whittled its staff down to about 500 people from a peak of 1,500, and was on track to run out of money in a matter of weeks, said people familiar with the matter. —Spencer Soper, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2023

But as the Trojans receiver rotation began to whittle this week, Williams notably honed in on one wideout more than others. —Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2023

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

By late July, a board committee had interviewed six of about a dozen applicants recommended by the search firm and whittled the pool down to two finalists, Pettigrew and Jenkins. —Teo Armus, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2023

School leaders hoping the financial help would continue are now working to whittle their budgets to stay out of the red. —Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2023

The group tastes 60 to 100 wines per quarter and whittles the selection down to just a handful of lead contenders. —Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 3 Oct. 2023

Indianapolis, like every team in the NFL, must whittle its roster down from 90 players to 53 by 4 p.m. Tuesday, and then teams begin to pounce on the players suddenly available on the waiver wire. —The Indianapolis Star, 26 Aug. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1552, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing whittle

• whittle away
• whittle down

• whittle away
• whittle down

Kids Definition

whittle

verb

whit·​tle

ˈhwit-ᵊl,

ˈwit-

whittled; whittling

-liŋ,

-ᵊl-iŋ

1

a

: to shave or cut off chips from the surface of wood with a knife

b

: to shape or form by so shaving or cutting

2

: to reduce gradually : pare

whittle down expenses

whittler

-lər

-ᵊl-ər

noun