whittle

¹ American  

[hwit-l, wit-l] / ˈʰwɪt l, ˈwɪt l /

verb (used with object)

whittled, whittling

1. to cut, trim, or shape (a stick, piece of wood, etc.) by carving off bits with a knife.

2. to form by whittling.

   to whittle a figure.

3. to cut off (a bit).

4. 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.

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verb (used without object)

whittled, whittling

1. to whittle wood or the like with a knife, as in shaping something or as a mere aimless diversion.

   to spend an afternoon whittling.

2. to tire oneself or another by worrying or fussing.

noun

1. British Dialect.  a knife, especially a large one, as a carving knife or a butcher knife.

Whittle ² American  

[hwit-l, wit-l] / ˈʰwɪt l, ˈwɪt l /

noun

1. Sir Frank, 1907–96, English engineer and inventor.

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Whittle ¹ British  

/ ˈwɪtəl /

noun

1. Sir Frank. 1907–96, English engineer, who invented the jet engine for aircraft; flew first British jet aircraft (1941)

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whittle ² British  

/ ˈwɪtəl /

verb

1. to cut or shave strips or pieces from (wood, a stick, etc), esp with a knife

2. (tr) to make or shape by paring or shaving

3. (tr; often foll by away, down, off, etc) to reduce, destroy, or wear away gradually

4. dialect  (intr) to complain or worry about something continually

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noun

1. dialect  a knife, esp a large one

Whittle Scientific  

/ wĭt′l /

1. British aeronautical engineer and inventor who developed the first aircraft engine powered by jet propulsion in 1937.

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Other Word Forms

• whittler noun

Etymology

Origin of whittle

1375–1425; late Middle English (noun), dialectal variant of thwitel knife, Old English thwīt ( an ) to cut + -el -le

Example Sentences

When you work on other aspects of your 2025 taxes, you may whittle your income down enough to qualify.

From Barron's

Gradually, the company stock position can be whittled down within the portfolio.

From Barron's

Some limited partners say their investment opportunities are already being whittled down as firms allocate more deals to their evergreen funds, and cut back allocations to institutional funds.

From The Wall Street Journal

Continuing to work whittles away at what time we have left to travel and enjoy the rest of the world.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the key is to put a cap on how much you spend to avoid falling into the trap of whittling away your winnings.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• diminish
• erode
• lessen
• pare
• shave
• trim