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
Current Chair Jerome Powell's term ends in May, and the Treasury secretary has whittled down the candidates to five.
—
Jeff Cox,eamon Javers, CNBC, 8 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
The Athletic reported earlier on Monday that a three-man wishlist, including former Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil, was being whittled down.
—Simon Johnson, New York Times, 5 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
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Jeff Cox,eamon Javers, CNBC, 8 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
The Athletic reported earlier on Monday that a three-man wishlist, including former Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil, was being whittled down.
—Simon Johnson, New York Times, 5 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 11 Jan. 2026.
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