as in 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 whittled
After much discussion, the council whittled that list down to three options before asking staffers to conduct more research before the council decides whether to put those choices to voters.
—
Victoria Le, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
But the 30 or so deaths earlier this year due to bird flu has whittled the number of swans down to about 44, a city official said.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026
His work as an accountant had spared him the sun marks and whittled skin that Mother carried.
—Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026
Dayton whittled the deficit to 10 early in the second half, but Belle buried a 3-pointer and Hill hit a pull-up jumper for a 48-33 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
—ABC News, 15 Mar. 2026
The Tigers whittled one of those UK leads down to five points with just over 10 minutes left.
—Kansas City Star, 12 Mar. 2026
On fourth-and-3 from the Washington 8 in the third quarter, rather than take a field goal that would’ve whittled Washington’s lead to 29-21.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2026
Cocurators Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer drew up a list of well over 400 creatives, made studio visits to upwards of 300, and whittled the tally down to 56 individuals, duos, and collectives.
—Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2026
Earlier this month, the department whittled the list down to 30 finalists.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026
Victoria Le, Oc Register, 13 May 2026
But the 30 or so deaths earlier this year due to bird flu has whittled the number of swans down to about 44, a city official said.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 May 2026
His work as an accountant had spared him the sun marks and whittled skin that Mother carried.
—Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026
Dayton whittled the deficit to 10 early in the second half, but Belle buried a 3-pointer and Hill hit a pull-up jumper for a 48-33 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
—ABC News, 15 Mar. 2026
The Tigers whittled one of those UK leads down to five points with just over 10 minutes left.
—Kansas City Star, 12 Mar. 2026
On fourth-and-3 from the Washington 8 in the third quarter, rather than take a field goal that would’ve whittled Washington’s lead to 29-21.
—Seth Emerson, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2026
Cocurators Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer drew up a list of well over 400 creatives, made studio visits to upwards of 300, and whittled the tally down to 56 individuals, duos, and collectives.
—Julie Belcove, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2026
Earlier this month, the department whittled the list down to 30 finalists.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittled
Verb
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The rooms Rooms are decorated in a cool, muted Pacific Northwest palette—soft shades, brass accents, and heavy drapes that cut the light just right.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 May 2026
-
Jake and Violet finally get married — and Station 42 gets to cut loose on the dance floor.—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 May 2026
Verb
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In multiple cases, other road users struck the autonomous vehicle from behind or clipped it while passing.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
-
Posts can be clipped out of context or interpreted as official positions.—
Adam Goodcoff,
STAT,
13 May 2026
Verb
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The rise of direct-to-consumer commerce and online visibility has also lowered barriers to entry in ways that can obscure the technical expertise traditionally associated with design.—
Jasmine Browley,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
-
When asked about reports that the bus had stopped on the railway tracks and that the barriers, used to keep motorists away from the tracks when the trains are passing, may not have lowered properly, Siripong said the matter still needs to be investigated.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 May 2026
Verb
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He was dropped for the trip to Le Havre, but has returned to the squad for Sunday’s pivotal final game at home to Rennes.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
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Those runs proved useful when Benge dropped a fly ball in the top of the seventh, allowing a run to score for the Yankees, who loaded the bases with no outs, forcing the Mets to go to the bullpen.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Stocks pared most of their losses, and a rally in oil prices lost steam.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
20 May 2026
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Because of its reusable first stage and payload fairing, SpaceX has pared back internal launch costs to about $15 million.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Whittled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittled. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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