whittle down
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 more drastic option of expanding the tournament to 96 teams or beyond would involve adding an extra week to a tournament that has thrived in part because of the symmetry of a six-round bracket that gets whittled down over three weeks.
—
Eddie Pells, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
Not much has changed as the screenings did not seem to whittle down the batch of pilots significantly, so testing results may help break some ties.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 1 May 2026
The survivors, drifting on the open ocean, are then whittled down by hunger and thirst, by the varied dangers of the Pacific, and eventually by one another.
—Eva Holland, The Atlantic, 30 Apr. 2026
After training camp, the roster will be whittled down from 90 players to 53 players prior to the start of the season.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for whittle down
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Eddie Pells, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
Not much has changed as the screenings did not seem to whittle down the batch of pilots significantly, so testing results may help break some ties.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 1 May 2026
The survivors, drifting on the open ocean, are then whittled down by hunger and thirst, by the varied dangers of the Pacific, and eventually by one another.
—Eva Holland, The Atlantic, 30 Apr. 2026
After training camp, the roster will be whittled down from 90 players to 53 players prior to the start of the season.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Apr. 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 12 May. 2026.
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