whittled (down)

verb

past tense of whittle (down)
as in cut down

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittled (down)
  1. cut down
  2. cut back
  3. turned down
  4. knocked down
Verb
  • If the war does indeed come to an end and oil keeps falling, Warsh might get breathing room for rate cuts down the line.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 16 June 2026
  • Courtesy of the Abu Haikal family Haikal said his family’s own homes have been targeted in settler attacks, including having stones thrown at their home, their crops destroyed, trees cut down and property stolen.
    — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 16 June 2026
Definition of cut down
Verb
  • Beef sales fell in the 13 weeks leading up to mid-July, with consumers cutting back on eating out or opting for cheaper proteins, Bloomberg reported.
    — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Schmidt said cutting back agricultural water use is not going to be easy.
    — Matthew Glasser, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of cut back
Verb
  • This follows an initial €46 million bid also being turned down, despite Rodri agreeing to join the Catalans.
    — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Recruiting from Wall Street Years after Altman turned down the offer, his company is now recruiting Wall Street talent.
    — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of turned down
Verb
  • Early in their time on set, the players got a bit wild, knocked down some cornstalks and were forced to play cards and horseshoes away from the field in their spare time.
    — Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • After using unconventional tactics, such as water-dropping helicopters, LAFD crews knocked down the fire and returned the property to Lineage for cleanup.
    — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of knocked down
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Whittled (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittled%20%28down%29. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

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