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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of whittle
Final sticking points: Veteran pay increases, planning time, evaluations
CTU’s slate of 700 asks from mid-April was whittled to just three sticking points last week.
—
Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025
Subsequent stopgap government funding measures have whittled the original $80 billion down by as much as half.
—David Lawder, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
His two scoreless, hitless innings whittled his ERA to 2.77.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 19 Mar. 2025
After whittling a 24-point, second-half deficit down to a single point with 4.1 seconds left to play, Ven-Allen Lubin stepped to the free-throw line for two shots that could’ve changed the trajectory of UNC’s season.
—Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Alice Yin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2025
Subsequent stopgap government funding measures have whittled the original $80 billion down by as much as half.
—David Lawder, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
His two scoreless, hitless innings whittled his ERA to 2.77.
—Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 19 Mar. 2025
After whittling a 24-point, second-half deficit down to a single point with 4.1 seconds left to play, Ven-Allen Lubin stepped to the free-throw line for two shots that could’ve changed the trajectory of UNC’s season.
—Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 15 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittle
Verb
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With the new order, Trump is threatening to cut federal funds to cities and states his Administration decides are blocking his mass deportation effort.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
29 Apr. 2025
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The state says the rule is crucial to meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and cutting smog-forming pollutants.—
David Shepardson,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In recent national headlines were a fatal crash of a tour helicopter in New York, a small plane that crashed in Florida and two commercial jets that clipped wings at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
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The women, with a better weight-to-strength ratio, can just clip on that pole like a pair of koalas and sit up there all day.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Four years ago, Joseph R. Biden Jr. collected $62 million (nearly $76 million in 2025 dollars) for his inauguration, though that celebration was pared down because of the coronavirus pandemic.—
Theodore Schleifer,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
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Meanwhile, the euro was choppy on Monday, paring gains against the greenback to fall 0.3% in the afternoon.—
Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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After these findings were reported, menopausal hormone therapy prescriptions dropped sharply in the U.S. and worldwide.—
Jean Wactawski-Wende,
The Conversation,
2 May 2025
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Pinochet’s Chile, for instance, both privatized the pension system and disappeared people by dropping their bodies out of helicopters into the ocean.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
2 May 2025
Verb
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But critics have questioned why the church, historically a defender of human rights and Christian values, would willingly join forces with the Chinese government, which under leader Xi Jinping has further curtailed religious freedom.—
Nectar Gan,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2025
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Recently organized boycotts against corporations that have substantially curtailed their DEI efforts, like Target, have been effective and provide environmentalists with a powerful blueprint to follow.—
Jerel Ezell,
Time,
22 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittle. Accessed 6 May. 2025.
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