verb
whittle
WIH-tuhl
verb
1
To shape a piece of wood by slicing off small slivers with a knife.
"He sat on the porch whittling a small wooden bird."
2
To gradually reduce something, especially in size or number, bit by bit.
"The committee whittled the shortlist down from twenty names to three."
"Years of overspending slowly whittled away their savings."
How to Use Whittle
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishTo carve wood with a knife, or to cut something down gradually piece by piece.
Common pairings
whittle a stick
whittle down a list
whittle away at savings
Word Forms
whittled past tense, whittles plural, Whittles plural, whittles plural, whittles singular
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The committee _____ the shortlist down from twenty names to three.
Etymology
From an old form of thwitel, "a large knife," itself from an Old English verb meaning "to cut or strike down" — the same root as the rarer word thwite.