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
The White House has been conducting an extensive search for the new chair, with the candidate field whittled down to five.
—
Jeff Cox, CNBC, 12 Jan. 2026
In many cases, the departures have whittled down agencies that hadn’t grown in years or benefited from the expansion of the federal work force over the last two decades.
—Emily Badger, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
But Connecticut has used those surpluses to build reserves and whittle down a considerable pension debt that still exceeds $33 billion, according to Lamont’s budget office.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 7 Jan. 2026
Trump has since confirmed that the number of candidates has been whittled down to three or four.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 28 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle down
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Jeff Cox, CNBC, 12 Jan. 2026
In many cases, the departures have whittled down agencies that hadn’t grown in years or benefited from the expansion of the federal work force over the last two decades.
—Emily Badger, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
But Connecticut has used those surpluses to build reserves and whittle down a considerable pension debt that still exceeds $33 billion, according to Lamont’s budget office.
—Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 7 Jan. 2026
Trump has since confirmed that the number of candidates has been whittled down to three or four.
—Callum Sutherland, Time, 28 Dec. 2025
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 16 Jan. 2026.
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