whittle

1 of 2

verb

whit·​tle ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl 

whittled; whittling ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl-iŋ 

ˈ(h)wit-liŋ

transitive verb

1

a

: to pare or cut off chips from the surface of (wood) with a knife

b

: to shape or form by so paring or cutting

2

: to reduce, remove, or destroy gradually as if by cutting off bits with a knife : pare

whittle down expenses

intransitive verb

1

: to cut or shape something (such as wood) by or as if by paring it with a knife

2

: to wear oneself or another out with fretting

whittler

ˈ(h)wit-lər

ˈ(h)wi-tᵊl-ər 

noun

whittle

2 of 2

noun

archaic

: a large knife

Examples of whittle in a Sentence

Verb

He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.

She whittled a walking stick from a maple tree branch.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

By the end of December, the PEO staff had whittled the list down to 13 companies. —Tom Davenport, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024

Fans voting will whittle the list to 10 beginning next week, with winners in that and all categories to be announced at an awards ceremony January 9 at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem. —Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2024

But the two-day sell-off has whittled the value of that stake to about $4 billion, based on Thursday's closing price. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2024

The shortlists will be whittled to a list of 10 nominees each for features and shorts, with that announcement expected on November 19. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English whittel, alteration of thwitel, from thwiten to whittle, from Old English thwītan; akin to Old Norse thveita to hew

First Known Use

Verb

1552, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing whittle

• whittle away
• whittle down

Kids Definition

whittle

verb

whit·​tle

ˈhwit-ᵊl,

ˈwit-

whittled; whittling

-liŋ,

-ᵊl-iŋ

1

a

: to shave or cut off chips from the surface of wood with a knife

b

: to shape or form by so shaving or cutting

2

: to reduce gradually : pare

whittle down expenses

whittler

-lər

-ᵊl-ər

noun