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whittle
1[ hwit-l, wit-l ]
verb (used with object)
- to cut, trim, or shape (a stick, piece of wood, etc.) by carving off bits with a knife.
- to form by whittling:
to whittle a figure.
- to cut off (a bit).
- to reduce the amount of, as if by whittling; pare down; take away by degrees (usually followed by down, away, etc.):
to whittle down the company's overhead; to whittle away one's inheritance.
verb (used without object)
- to whittle wood or the like with a knife, as in shaping something or as a mere aimless diversion:
to spend an afternoon whittling.
- to tire oneself or another by worrying or fussing.
noun
- British Dialect. a knife, especially a large one, as a carving knife or a butcher knife.
Whittle
2[ hwit-l, wit-l ]
noun
- Sir Frank, 1907–96, English engineer and inventor.
whittle
1/ ˈwɪtəl /
verb
- to cut or shave strips or pieces from (wood, a stick, etc), esp with a knife
- tr to make or shape by paring or shaving
- tr; often foll by away, down, off, etc to reduce, destroy, or wear away gradually
- dialect.intr to complain or worry about something continually
noun
- dialect.a knife, esp a large one
Whittle
2/ ˈwɪtəl /
noun
- WhittleSir Frank19071996MEnglishTECHNOLOGY: engineerTECHNOLOGY: inventor Sir Frank. 1907–96, English engineer, who invented the jet engine for aircraft; flew first British jet aircraft (1941)
Whittle
/ wĭt′l /
- British aeronautical engineer and inventor who developed the first aircraft engine powered by jet propulsion in 1937.
Derived Forms
- ˈwhittler, noun
Other Words From
- whittler noun
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of whittle1
Example Sentences
Neither Cipriani nor Whittle responded to requests for comment.
In spite of his new entrepreneurial vision, Whittle maintains his good feelings towards the Pacha owners.
In fact, Bomba almost turned into a nightmare for the Cipriani-Whittle duo.
How did you whittle all that material into the final shape of the film?
And as Bill Whittle put it, “Republicans should commit to their own story.”
Wal, Capm, fust thing is to fish up a bit 'f driftwood 'n' whittle out 'nother paddle.
He'd sit with his cigar tilted up in one corner of his mouth, and his hat tilted forward, and whittle sticks.
Anyone can whittle these little sticks out, using any kind of hard wood.
The other picked up a pine splinter from the wharf, and producing a knife, began to whittle it.
Lawyer Whittle was fined two pecks of apples and cigars for wearing a stovepipe hat and so the fun went on, day after day.
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