as in to cut
to cause to diminish gradually by or as if by cutting off bits with a knife
He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of whittle
An 8-2 run punctuated by a floater from Matthew Webber in the lane has whittled the Colorado Academy lead down to 35-30 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
—
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2025
Agencies can whittle personnel through layoffs, attrition, removal of underperforming employees, or renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements.
—Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2025
The Trump Administration had already been whittling the agency’s staff, though buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees.
—TIME, 12 Mar. 2025
Respect for the Eagles is why the point spread favoring he Chiefs as whittled from 2 1/2 points down to a negligible 1.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2025
Agencies can whittle personnel through layoffs, attrition, removal of underperforming employees, or renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements.
—Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2025
The Trump Administration had already been whittling the agency’s staff, though buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees.
—TIME, 12 Mar. 2025
Respect for the Eagles is why the point spread favoring he Chiefs as whittled from 2 1/2 points down to a negligible 1.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 6 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittle
Verb
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The mom of one most notably cut her hair in January 2023, debuting a head-turning, blunt bob.—
Dayna Haffenden,
People.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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In March’s Big Spring Sale, Amazon cut the price of Apple AirPods heavily.—
David Phelan,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The 27-year-old’s next offering was even more up and in, the baseball colliding with India’s helmet, clipping his ear flap and grazing his face.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2025
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Everybody was able to move out, but two older women were really almost clipped.—
Patrick Smith,
NBC news,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Kraft, who launched his campaign in early February, has thus far rolled out a plan that would pare back affordability requirements, saying that the mayor’s policies have exacerbated housing affordability.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
28 Mar. 2025
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Together with previous buyouts and early retirements spurred by Trump administration policies, the move will pare the health department down to about 62,000 employees, the agency said.—
Sheryl Gay Stolberg,
New York Times,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 320.01 to 37,645.59, and the Nasdaq composite sank 335.35 to 15,267.91.—
Time,
Time,
9 Apr. 2025
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Markets dropped sharply over several days after the President’s announcement.—
Renée Onque,
CNBC,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Asian equities ended the week with a thud as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia fell more than -1% as tariff talk (terror?) curtails animal spirits and Indonesia closed for Hindu Saka New Year.—
Brendan Ahern,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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The development is the latest sign that the Trump administration may dramatically curtail HUD’s housing discrimination work.—
Jesse Coburn,
ProPublica,
25 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittle. Accessed 12 Apr. 2025.
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