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 /

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 ² 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 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

He must whittle that number down to 26 as England accelerate planning for their opening World Cup game against Croatia on 17 June in Arlington, Texas.

From BBC

Even that won’t be the end of Paramount’s problems since it will have to unlock hefty synergies to whittle down a mountain of debt.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pidcock was part of a lead group of 12 riders on the final Superga climb, which whittled the contenders down to five.

From BBC

He whittled away at the rope above him.

From Literature

He sat by the fire, pleasantly full of meat, whittling a whistle from a piece of grouse bone.

From Literature

Related Words

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