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
Not long ago, such an idea would have seemed dystopian; now, that’s just the everyday gig economy whittled down to its most cruelly efficient form.
—
Guy Lodge, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
As all 32 teams in the NFL begin whittling down their respective rosters ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s deadline, the Dallas Cowboys have made their first handful of moves.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2025
They were whittled down to the final 26 players by a panel of selectors.
—Peter Carline, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
With help from statewide prosecutors dispatched by Attorney General James Uthmeier, the backlog was whittled down as of Thursday by nearly 22%, to 10,687 such cases.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle down
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Guy Lodge, Variety, 29 Aug. 2025
As all 32 teams in the NFL begin whittling down their respective rosters ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s deadline, the Dallas Cowboys have made their first handful of moves.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2025
They were whittled down to the final 26 players by a panel of selectors.
—Peter Carline, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
With help from statewide prosecutors dispatched by Attorney General James Uthmeier, the backlog was whittled down as of Thursday by nearly 22%, to 10,687 such cases.
—Cristóbal Reyes, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Aug. 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 10 Sep. 2025.
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