whittle down
phrasal verb
whittled down; whittling down; whittles down
: to gradually make (something) smaller by removing parts
We whittled the list down to four people.
Examples of whittle down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Six townhall meetings were held, and the list was whittled down to four names.
—
Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
The shortlist of 13, whittled down from 128 novels and short story collections translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between May 2025 and April 2026.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
The Loewe Foundation received more than 5,100 submissions, which were whittled down by an expert committee to the 30 finalists, who work in such media as ceramics, wood, textiles, furniture, bookbinding, glass, metal, jewelry and lacquer.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 23 Feb. 2026
The city's Department of Streets and Sanitation said more than 13,300 entries were submitted this year before being whittled down to 25 finalists earlier this month.
—Todd Feurer, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for whittle down
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Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026
The shortlist of 13, whittled down from 128 novels and short story collections translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland between May 2025 and April 2026.
—Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Feb. 2026
The Loewe Foundation received more than 5,100 submissions, which were whittled down by an expert committee to the 30 finalists, who work in such media as ceramics, wood, textiles, furniture, bookbinding, glass, metal, jewelry and lacquer.
—Miles Socha, Footwear News, 23 Feb. 2026
The city's Department of Streets and Sanitation said more than 13,300 entries were submitted this year before being whittled down to 25 finalists earlier this month.
—Todd Feurer, CBS News, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for whittle down
Cite this Entry
“Whittle down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whittle%20down. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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