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 /

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

²

/ 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

/ 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

Has the Premier League title race been whittled down to two teams after just 11 games of the season?

From BBC

Fifteen finalists, from countries including France, Kenya, Indonesia, the UK and Nepal, were competing for their category's prize pot after being whittled down from 2,500 applicants.

From BBC

Conservative Party members are currently taking part in an online vote after the field was whittled down to two in a series of votes by MPs.

From BBC

However, Prof Lorente’s team whittled the candidates down to eight possible birthplaces, in Spain, Portugal and Italy.

From BBC

Since September, Conservative MPs have been whittling down the candidate list in a series of votes.

From BBC

Related Words

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