whittle (down)

verb

Definition of whittle (down)next
as in to cut down

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittle (down)
  1. cut down
  2. cut back
  3. turn down
Verb
  • Permits for cutting down Christmas trees in national forests, a Thanksgiving weekend tradition for many Colorado families, are now on sale.
    John Meyer, The Denver Post, 9 Nov. 2024
  • The Clippers responded by cutting down its mistakes, not turning over the ball and making the right play, enabling them to build a substantial lead in the second half.
    Janis Carr, Orange County Register, 6 Nov. 2024
Definition of cut down
Verb
  • O’Leary said the measure will be more pronounced as other countries cut back, meaning the difference will be closer to £10.
    Chris Morris, Fortune Europe, 5 Nov. 2024
  • The video cuts back and forth from the second couple — both of whom turned 60 last month — to a beaming Roberts and his wife Tricia.
    Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2024
Definition of cut back
Verb
  • None of their clients had ever been turned down by a board.
    Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 14 Nov. 2024
  • Once, after a radio station turned down one of his songs, Paxton assembled a protest parade down Hollywood Boulevard with 15 cheerleaders and a live elephant pulling a Volkswagen convertible.
    Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 2 Nov. 2024
Definition of turn down
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near whittle (down)

whittled (down)

whittle (down)

whittles

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Whittle (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittle%20%28down%29. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
little chihuahua dressing like a turkey for thanksgiving
Is That Gratitude or Attitude? A Thanksgiving Quiz Decide which words express gratitude and which gi...