as in to cut
to cause to diminish gradually by or as if by cutting off bits with a knife
He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.
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Recent Examples of whittle
But even bad songs are tough to whittle into a list and culling some of the worst offenders is highly subjective.
—
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
Kyiv and its European allies hastily amended that plan, whittling it down to 19 proposals, with Ukrainian officials travelling to Florida last weekend for more talks on the proposals.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2025
The Horned Frogs saw a double-digit-point lead whittled to just four by intermission, thanks to the 3-point shooting of John Blackwell — who scored 30 points on Friday — and savvy playmaking by former San Diego State guard Nick Boyd.
—Kyle Kensing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2025
Born in 1970 in Herber City, Utah, Allen is largely self-taught, having begun his artistic career by whittling figures and selling them from atop an ironing board on the streets of SoHo in New York.
—News Desk, Artforum, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
Kyiv and its European allies hastily amended that plan, whittling it down to 19 proposals, with Ukrainian officials travelling to Florida last weekend for more talks on the proposals.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2025
The Horned Frogs saw a double-digit-point lead whittled to just four by intermission, thanks to the 3-point shooting of John Blackwell — who scored 30 points on Friday — and savvy playmaking by former San Diego State guard Nick Boyd.
—Kyle Kensing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Nov. 2025
Born in 1970 in Herber City, Utah, Allen is largely self-taught, having begun his artistic career by whittling figures and selling them from atop an ironing board on the streets of SoHo in New York.
—News Desk, Artforum, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittle
Verb
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An emergency order by the FAA on Thursday said airlines have to cut traffic by 4%, resulting in about 800 flight cancellations for Friday that increased to over 1,000 throughout the day, according to FlightAware.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Southwest Airlines cut about 120 flights Friday.—
JOSH FUNK,
Arkansas Online,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Once Jeopardy's John Pork question was clipped for TikTok, users on the platform argued that the clue wasn't completely accurate, as John Pork appeared on social media as early as 2018, before generative AI was widely accessible.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Nov. 2025
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Melissa went on to tear through Cuba and the Bahamas before clipping Bermuda on its way out to sea.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Renk and Leonardo initially led the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, moving more than 4% higher, but pared gains through the session.—
Tasmin Lockwood,
CNBC,
8 Jan. 2026
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Trump’s edict was light on details — and the shares pared those losses in later trading — but the message was sent.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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When this happens, visibilities frequently drop to one-quarter of a mile or less.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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Bears were once hunted so much in Japan that their population dropped precipitously – but environmental protections were introduced in the 1990s, allowing the bear population to recover.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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This production, directed by David Cromer and co-starring Namir Smallwood, also ran twice at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago (with the first run curtailed by the pandemic) before moving to Broadway.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Jan. 2026
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In virtually all cases outside of Detroit, newspapers concluded their partnerships with mergers, one partner shuttering its operations or the smaller paper dramatically curtailing operations.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
4 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Whittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittle. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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