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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Recent Examples of whittle
Hundreds of painful layoffs and early retirements over the past school year whittled the deficit to $3 million.
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Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 17 Oct. 2024
In its 14th round of disposals, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. eclipsed $10 billion of total proceeds from whittling its stake in the second-largest US bank, a regulatory filing on Monday shows.
—Katherine Doherty, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2024
By Thursday night, the group — including San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and Cole Cameron, chair of the Santa Clara County Veterans Commission — had whittled the gap to about $30,000, which included a cushion for unexpected costs.
—Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2024
Lawsuits over its platform counterfeiting people’s designs and concerns over its supply chain practices have whittled the chances of a U.S. IPO.
—Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 24 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for whittle 
Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 17 Oct. 2024
In its 14th round of disposals, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. eclipsed $10 billion of total proceeds from whittling its stake in the second-largest US bank, a regulatory filing on Monday shows.
—Katherine Doherty, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2024
By Thursday night, the group — including San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and Cole Cameron, chair of the Santa Clara County Veterans Commission — had whittled the gap to about $30,000, which included a cushion for unexpected costs.
—Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2024
Lawsuits over its platform counterfeiting people’s designs and concerns over its supply chain practices have whittled the chances of a U.S. IPO.
—Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 24 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for whittle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittle
Verb
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Dylan cut his first album two months after Robert Shelton wrote about him in the New York Times.Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2024
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Macy’s — Shares shed less than 1% after the department store chain cut its fiscal-year forecast .Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Josie made two solid, explosive passes at the convoy, but her bird could not avoid getting clipped by enemy fire.Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 8 Dec. 2024
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To maximize flowering, prune late blooming clematis hard in February by clipping vines back to the lowest set of flower buds.Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Opt for a small kitchen island with clean lines that’s pared down.Rachel Davies, Architectural Digest, 17 Dec. 2024
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Investors pared back BoE rate cut bets to fully price in just two quarter-point cuts in borrowing costs between now and the end of 2025.Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 17 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Trust among Republicans over that time period dropped much more precipitously, from 70% to 40%, while roughly 80% of Democrats expressed trust in national news sources.James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2024
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Move the plant indoors as soon as temperatures begin to drop down into the 50s at night (waiting until freezing weather will be too much of a shock).Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Other necessary actions would include reducing malign economic influence, curtailing their global trade, and tightening what would likely be a robust set of sanctions.Daniel R. Green, Baltimore Sun, 15 Dec. 2024
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Education Challenges: Thousands of schools in Syria have been damaged or destroyed, drastically curtailing education services for millions of children in Syria.Maryanne Murray Buechner, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near whittle
Cite this Entry
“Whittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittle. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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