whittle

¹

[ hwit-l, wit-l ]

verb (used with object)

, whit·tled, whit·tling.

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.

verb (used without object)

, whit·tled, whit·tling.

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

[ hwit-l, wit-l ]

noun

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

Whittle

¹

/ ˈwɪtəl /

noun

1. WhittleSir Frank19071996MEnglishTECHNOLOGY: engineerTECHNOLOGY: inventor Sir Frank. 1907–96, English engineer, who invented the jet engine for aircraft; flew first British jet aircraft (1941)

whittle

²

/ 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

noun

1. dialect.
   a knife, esp a large one

Whittle

/ wĭt′l /

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

Derived Forms

• ˈwhittler, noun

Other Words From

• whittler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of whittle¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of whittle¹

C16: variant of C15 thwittle large knife, from Old English thwitel, from thwītan to cut; related to Old Norse thveitr cut, thveita to beat

Example Sentences

Neither Cipriani nor Whittle responded to requests for comment.

From The Daily Beast

In spite of his new entrepreneurial vision, Whittle maintains his good feelings towards the Pacha owners.

From The Daily Beast

In fact, Bomba almost turned into a nightmare for the Cipriani-Whittle duo.

From The Daily Beast

How did you whittle all that material into the final shape of the film?

From The Daily Beast

And as Bill Whittle put it, “Republicans should commit to their own story.”

From The Daily Beast

Wal, Capm, fust thing is to fish up a bit 'f driftwood 'n' whittle out 'nother paddle.

From Project Gutenberg

He'd sit with his cigar tilted up in one corner of his mouth, and his hat tilted forward, and whittle sticks.

From Project Gutenberg

Anyone can whittle these little sticks out, using any kind of hard wood.

From Project Gutenberg

The other picked up a pine splinter from the wharf, and producing a knife, began to whittle it.

From Project Gutenberg

Lawyer Whittle was fined two pecks of apples and cigars for wearing a stovepipe hat and so the fun went on, day after day.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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