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
  • If most of the films fall short of profit, what’s to stop a studio from cutting back on supply and cost?
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Similarly, businesses also cut back and shrink rather than disappear.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of cut back
Verb
  • But shortly after the Edinburgh screening, Tuttle revealed the film had been turned down by every major festival it had been submitted to because of its subject matter.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2026
  • The court turned down his bid to impose sanctions for ignoring evidence undermining her claims, saying there’s no evidence of bad faith.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of turned down
Verb
  • Firefighters knocked down several new blazes Friday, and officials warned crews not to grow complacent during mop-up.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026
  • The incident was captured live on YES Network and showed Duluc getting knocked down before eventually getting back to her feet, according to the complaint.
    — Madison Lambert, NBC news, 7 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 12 Aug. 2026.

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