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
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
After trailing 75-50 in the third quarter, the Spurs whittled the margin to 11 points by the end of the period and opened the fourth with an 18-5 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes.
—Oc Register, 7 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
Further investigation with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) whittled these galaxies down to 70 faint dusty galaxy candidates on the very edge of the cosmos, the majority of which had never been seen before.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2026
After weighing 22 criteria ranging from impacts upon water pollution, noise and air quality to opportunities for economic growth, MnDOT has whittled 10 potential project approaches down to three options.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 18 Feb. 2026
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
After trailing 75-50 in the third quarter, the Spurs whittled the margin to 11 points by the end of the period and opened the fourth with an 18-5 run to take their first lead since the opening minutes.
—Oc Register, 7 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
Further investigation with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) whittled these galaxies down to 70 faint dusty galaxy candidates on the very edge of the cosmos, the majority of which had never been seen before.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 20 Feb. 2026
After weighing 22 criteria ranging from impacts upon water pollution, noise and air quality to opportunities for economic growth, MnDOT has whittled 10 potential project approaches down to three options.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittled
Verb
-
Minnesota led by 10 with about four minutes left before Houston used an 8-2 run, with four points from Alperen Sengun, to cut the lead to 132-128 with about a minute to go.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
It is equipped with fold-out platforms, a large glass-bottom pool, and a lounge with a DJ booth, meaning seafarers can play with water toys by day and cut shapes by night.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The video that was clipped online cuts out Khanna’s response, where the congressman rebuffs the woman’s comments.—
Sydney Topf,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Apr. 2026
-
One video taken from inside the school bus shows students screaming and crying as the train passes behind the vehicle after being clipped.—
Michelle Spitzer,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
While Washington’s policies drive prices up, our state has lowered costs where the state has jurisdiction — by repealing the grocery tax and capping child care expenses.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
-
In addition, strong winds over desert areas could result in briefly lowered visibilities to well under a mile at times in blowing dust or blowing sand.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Ilya Mikheyev had two goals for last-place Chicago, which dropped to 3-9-3 in its past 15 games.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
McIlroy’s roller coaster round included three bogeys, four birdies and a double-bogey for a 73, which dropped him to 11 under for the tournament.—
Doug Ferguson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Even in the oil market, where prices jumped above $100 per barrel after ceasefire talks over the weekend failed to end the war, prices pared their leaps as Monday progressed.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Meanwhile, the market’s reaction to the blockade has been muted, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq largely flat while oil prices have pared gains.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Whittled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittled. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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