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
The program's delegates gathered ideas (nearly 2,000 in all) for months, whittled them down to a handful for each city voting district, and now have turned the final list of possible projects back to the people to vote on.
—
Karri Peifer, Axios, 3 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Karri Peifer, Axios, 3 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittle
Verb
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Return overgrown grass to the proper height by raising the mower deck to cut the grass high.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 May 2025
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Board member Allen Zeman noted that the district has regularly cut teaching positions when enrollment has fallen but hasn’t done the same for central office jobs.—
Scott Travis,
Sun Sentinel,
10 May 2025
Verb
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Two ornate brooches from Tiffany & Co. clipped to the belt added a touch of sparkle.—
Brittany Talarico,
People.com,
6 May 2025
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Courtesy of Hyundai/Rolls Royce Automakers that nest key controls deep in touchscreen menus—forcing motorists to drive eyes-down rather than concentrate on the road ahead—may have their non-US safety ratings clipped next year.—
Carlton Reid,
Wired News,
5 May 2025
Verb
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Even as major companies pare back or flatline diversity commitments, a few, including Costco and Cisco, have publicly defended DEI.—
Jessica Guynn,
USA Today,
2 May 2025
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Shares of Tesla fell as much as 3% in overnight trading on trading platform Robinhood following the news, before paring losses.—
Amala Balakrishner,
CNBC,
1 May 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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While many of the Biden-era repayment and forgiveness options are being curtailed or eliminated, several programs remain in place, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
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So curtailing their work is another arrow aimed at the heart of democracy, as damaging as the attack on universities and the free press.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittle. Accessed 15 May. 2025.
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