whittle down
phrasal verb
whittled down; whittling down; whittles down
: to gradually make (something) smaller by removing parts
We whittled the list down to four people.
Examples of whittle down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
What was once hoped to be a 25-plus day shoot schedule was whittled down to 20 before filming.
—
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2025
The field of 68 has been whittled down to two as Florida and Houston battle for a championship.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
In the aftermath, the White House added the vice president to the traveling delegation and whittled down the itinerary, shortening the trip to a one-day stop at a remote American military base in northwestern Greenland.
—Shannon K. Kingston, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2025
Over the next five days, the regional field will be whittled down from 36 to eight teams.
—Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle down
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Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2025
The field of 68 has been whittled down to two as Florida and Houston battle for a championship.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Apr. 2025
In the aftermath, the White House added the vice president to the traveling delegation and whittled down the itinerary, shortening the trip to a one-day stop at a remote American military base in northwestern Greenland.
—Shannon K. Kingston, ABC News, 3 Apr. 2025
Over the next five days, the regional field will be whittled down from 36 to eight teams.
—Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whittle down
Cite this Entry
“Whittle down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whittle%20down. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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