whittle
noun
, ˈwi-\
Definition of whittle
(Entry 1 of 2)
whittle
verb
, ˈwit- ; ˈhwi-tᵊl-iŋ , ˈwi- \
Definition of whittle (Entry 2 of 2)
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from whittle
Verb
, ˈwit- ; ˈhwi-tᵊl-ər , ˈwi- \
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: Noun
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. 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Eliminating breads, starches, and baked goods in addition to cutting out alcohol, processed sugar, and dairy—on the advice of my trainer—quickly whittled my waist, chiseled my arms, and sharpened my jawline. — Lauren Levinson, Harper's BAZAAR, "I Stopped Eating Carbs After 2:30 p.m. and It Changed My Body," 14 June 2018 Because the Big Island is younger and growing, those forces haven't whittled much of it away. — Phil Gast And Brandon Miller, CNN, "Hawaii's 'hot spot': It makes volcanoes and islands," 7 May 2018 But recent primaries have whittled the field down to around 50, a number that still far exceeds the dozen or so who ran in 2016, said Shaun Kennedy, co-founder of Jetpac, a Massachusetts nonprofit that helps train Muslim-American candidates. — Jeff Karoub, The Seattle Times, "Muslims run for office in record numbers but the path is uphill," 16 July 2018 Over the past decades, a U.S. manufacturing operation with 15 sewing factories, two plants making down for parkas and more than 3,500 workers whittled down to a skeleton crew of about 45 employees at the Pennsylvania mill. — Ruth Simon, WSJ, "Weaving Magic Unravels in Woolrich, Pa.," 21 Dec. 2018 Currently, a handful of sizes in each color are available, in both ankle and regular lengths, with certain size-color combos whittled down to just three or four pairs inventory-wise. — Alexandra Ilyashov, Glamour, "I Tested Everlane's Work Pants to See What All the Hype Was About," 30 July 2018 After a month of intense battling, and 32 teams whittled down to just two, the football tournament officially came to a close today at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, with a 4-2 victory for France. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "France Wins the 2018 World Cup, and Twitter Goes Wild," 15 July 2018 The voting period for whittling that list down even further is still open through October, and readers can vote via app or social media. — Rachel King, Fortune, "Book Clubs Are Really Having a Moment Right Now," 2 July 2018 Every year, Harvard’s admissions officers are charged with whittling a batch of 40,000 applicants down to a bare-bones selection to fill the institution’s roughly 1,600 freshman seats. — Alia Wong, The Atlantic, "Harvard's Impossible Personality Test," 19 June 2018These 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.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for whittle
whittle
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of whittle
See the full definition for whittle in the English Language Learners Dictionary
whittle
verb
, ˈwi-\
Kids Definition of whittle
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on whittle
What made you want to look up whittle? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
A Green Quiz
-
- What is the best definition of green-eyed monster?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
A Green Quiz
How many questions can you answer about the word "green"?
Take the quiz -
Return of Name that Color!
Additional colors! More obscure than before!
Take the quiz -
True or False?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
Take the quiz -
Citation
Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?
Play the game
Share whittle
Resources for whittle