whittle away
phrasal verb
whittled away; whittling away; whittles away
: to reduce or get rid of (something) slowly
I'm still trying to whittle away a few more pounds.
Examples of whittle away in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
While the case was pending throughout the 1940s, various interim settlements whittled away at studio practices; after a 1940 consent decree attacked the practice of block booking, the major studios generally abandoned their B-units as not worth the cost.
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The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Feb. 2025
Another focuses on first whittling away at those obligations carrying the highest interest rates.
—Russ Wiles, USA Today, 6 Apr. 2025
Since February 2022, using unmanned attack drones, Ukraine has successfully sunk or damaged Russian ships and whittled away at Russia’s Black sea fleet, sinking about 15 of its prewar fleet of about 36 warships and damaging many others.
—Colin Flint, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2025
The New Climate Edicts Among its flurry of actions in its first several weeks, the second Trump administration issued a series of edicts that would whittle away the information sources and regulatory frameworks on which businesses and investors have long relied when managing climate risks.
—John Kostyack, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle away
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The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 Feb. 2025
Another focuses on first whittling away at those obligations carrying the highest interest rates.
—Russ Wiles, USA Today, 6 Apr. 2025
Since February 2022, using unmanned attack drones, Ukraine has successfully sunk or damaged Russian ships and whittled away at Russia’s Black sea fleet, sinking about 15 of its prewar fleet of about 36 warships and damaging many others.
—Colin Flint, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2025
The New Climate Edicts Among its flurry of actions in its first several weeks, the second Trump administration issued a series of edicts that would whittle away the information sources and regulatory frameworks on which businesses and investors have long relied when managing climate risks.
—John Kostyack, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle away
Cite this Entry
“Whittle away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whittle%20away. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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