whittle away

phrasal verb

whittled away; whittling away; whittles away
: to reduce or get rid of (something) slowly
I'm still trying to whittle away a few more pounds.

Examples of whittle away in a Sentence

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The Medicaid portions of the GOP proposal would save $625 billion over a 10-year period, according to the CBO, as Republicans try to whittle away more than $880 billion in spending. Elizabeth Crisp, The Hill, 25 May 2025 To smooth your transition into vacation mode—and avoid whittling away the first few days simply decompressing—Nasir also recommends reducing your pre-break load as much as possible. Erica Sloan, SELF, 19 Dec. 2024 Bill Owens, executive producer of the venerable Sunday night news magazine, suggested the show’s editorial independence has been whittled away as corporate parent Paramount seeks to make peace with Trump. Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025 Even when the Knicks seemed to pull away, Indiana would whittle away at the lead bit by bit. Shakeia Taylor, New York Times, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for whittle away

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“Whittle away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whittle%20away. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

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