whittle

play

noun whit·tle \ˈhwi-t^əl, ˈwi-\

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

whittle

verb whit·tle

Definition of whittle

whittled

;

whittling

play \ˈhwit-liŋ, ˈwit-; ˈhwi-t^əl-iŋ, ˈwi-\

transitive verb
1a : to pare or cut off chips from the surface of (wood) with a knifeb : 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-t^əl-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

By 2015, that number had been whittled to seven, Garrett said, and all have since been resolved.

— phil diehl, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Twice annual tree trimming is not enough for seaside condo owner," 18 July 2017
Texas lawmakers have whittled down various knife laws through the years.

— anna m. tinsley, star-telegram, "Bowie knives, swords and daggers will be street legal in Texas on Sept. 1," 14 July 2017
The Nagurski Trophy goes to the best defensive player in college football, and the FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will whittle the watch list down to five finalists on Nov. 16.

— stefanie loh, The Seattle Times, "WSU’s Hercules Mata’afa named to Nagurski Trophy preseason watch list," 13 July 2017
The group was whittled down to 20 amateur adventurers.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "The Amazing Story of the First All-Women North Pole Expedition," 12 July 2017
Covington narrows city manager search to 4 The city of Covington has whittled a field of 37 candidates down to four finalists for the open city manager position, the city recently announced.

— scott wartman, Cincinnati.com, "NKY Notebook: Lawmaker renews effort to get rid of constables," 6 July 2017
The group was whittled down to seven at a semifinalist competition in June and then to five.

— mary salatino, Naperville Sun, "Naperville woman a finalist in Mario Tricoci modeling competition," 1 July 2017
Held every four years in Fort Worth, Texas, the competition whittles contestants down from a field of 140 from around the world.

— jacob gedetsis, kansascity.com, "Park U’s Kenny Broberg on life after Van Cliburn: Being the best pianist he can be," 1 July 2017
Next best is paying enough to whittle down balances over time.

— bev o'shea, The Seattle Times, "7 signs you’re in debt over your head," 29 June 2017

First Known Use of whittle

1552

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

WHITTLE Defined for Kids

whittle

play

verb whit·tle \ˈhwi-t^əl, ˈwi-\

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.