Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense whittles, present participle whittling, past tense, past participle whittled
verb
If you whittle something from a piece of wood, you carve it by cutting pieces off the wood with a knife.
He whittled a new handle for his ax. [VERB noun]
Chitty sat in his rocking-chair whittling wood. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: carve, cut, hew [old-fashioned], shape More Synonyms of whittle
Phrasal verbs:
See whittle away
See whittle down
whittle in British English
(ˈwɪtəl)
verb
1.
to cut or shave strips or pieces from (wood, a stick, etc), esp with a knife
2. (transitive)
to make or shape by paring or shaving
3. (tr; often foll by away, down, off, etc)
to reduce, destroy, or wear away gradually
4. Northern England dialect(intransitive)
to complain or worry about something continually
noun
5. British dialect
a knife, esp a large one
Derived forms
whittler (ˈwhittler)
noun
Word origin
C16: variant of C15 thwittle large knife, from Old English thwitel, from thwītan to cut; related to Old Norse thveitr cut, thveita to beat
Whittle in British English
(ˈwɪtəl)
noun
Sir Frank. 1907–96, English engineer, who invented the jet engine for aircraft; flew first British jet aircraft (1941)
Whittle in American English
(ˈhwɪtəl; ˈwɪtəl)
Sir Frank1907-96; Eng. engineer & pioneer developer of jet propulsion engines
whittle in American English
(ˈhwɪtəl; ˈwɪtəl)
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈwhittled or ˈwhittling
1.
a.
to cut or pare thin shavings from (wood) with a knife
b.
to make or fashion (an object) in this manner
2.
to reduce, destroy, or get rid of gradually, as if by whittling away with a knife
usually with down, away, etc.
to whittle down the cost of a project
verb intransitive
3.
to whittle wood; often, specif., to cut away aimlessly at a stick, etc.
noun
4. Obsolete
a large knife
Derived forms
whittler (ˈwhittler)
noun
Word origin
< obs. whittle, a knife < ME whyttel, var. of thwitel, dim. < OE thwitan, to cut < IE base *twei-, to strike, cut
Examples of 'whittle' in a sentence
whittle
That is what whittling away a current account deficit really means.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
That lead had been whittled down to 21 points.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
A panel will then whittle down the list.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
British goods will become more competitive for international buyers, foreigners will buy more of our stuff and gradually that current account deficit will be whittled away.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You will now find that your list has been whittled down to two or three possibilities.
Lumsden, Robert 23 Steps to Successful Achievement (1972)
They are sick to the back teeth of their earnings being whittled away.
The Sun (2008)
For the final, the contestants had been whittled down to three.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Our judges have whittled down thousands of entries to 40 finalists.
The Sun (2014)
There is no easy way to carve stone or whittle wood or mould clay or build Stonehenge.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
By 2003 the lifestyle had whittled away too much of his soul.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
All else is lost to the great cycles of earth history, whittled away by time.
Richard Fortey THE EARTH: An Intimate History (2004)
THE judges must whittle down the wannabes to the final 32 acts tomorrow night.
The Sun (2010)
The only difficulty I had was to whittle my list down to five.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
I want to whittle away at that 20 years.
Christianity Today (2000)
The panel have to whittle down 54 contestants for the Hollywood round.
The Sun (2009)
Gradually I whittled down my criteria.
Ben Nimmo IN FORKBEARD'S WAKE: Coasting Round Scandinavia (2003)
He received more than 50 serious applications and whittled the list down to a dozen, based on how experienced they are.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Now it's YOUR turn to whittle that list down to five.
The Sun (2007)
During the day my lead was whittled down but I managed to keep the Italian player breathing down my neck at bay.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In other languages
whittle
British English: whittle VERB
If you whittle something from a piece of wood, you carve it by cutting pieces off the wood with a knife.
He whittled a new handle for his ax.
American English: whittle
Brazilian Portuguese: aparar
Chinese: 削 >木头
European Spanish: tallar
French: tailler au couteauN
German: schnitzen
Italian: scolpire
Japanese: 木を削って作る
Korean: 깎아 만들다
European Portuguese: aparar
Latin American Spanish: tallar
Chinese translation of 'whittle'
whittle
(ˈwɪtl)
vt
to whittle sth down/away削减(減)/消耗某物 (xuējiǎn/xiāohào mǒuwù)
(verb)
Definition
to make (an object) by cutting or shaving pieces from (a piece of wood) with a small knife
Chitty sat in his rocking chair whittling a piece of wood.
Synonyms
carve
One of the prisoners has carved a beautiful chess set.
cut
Geometric motifs are cut into the stone walls.
hew (old-fashioned)
medieval monasteries hewn out of the rockface
shape
trim
My friend trims my hair every eight weeks.
shave
I set the log on the ground and shaved off the bark.
pare
Pare the rind thinly from the lemon.
Phrasal verbs
See whittle something away
See whittle something or someone down
Additional synonyms
in the sense of cut
Definition
to form or shape by cutting
Geometric motifs are cut into the stone walls.
Synonyms
shape,
carve,
engrave,
chisel,
form,
score,
fashion,
chip,
sculpture,
whittle,
sculpt,
inscribe,
hew (old-fashioned)
in the sense of hew
Definition
to carve (something) from a substance
medieval monasteries hewn out of the rockface
Synonyms
carve,
make,
form,
fashion,
shape,
model,
sculpture,
sculpt
in the sense of pare
Definition
to trim or cut the edge of
Pare the rind thinly from the lemon.
Synonyms
peel,
cut,
skin,
trim,
clip,
shave
Nearby words of
whittle
whiter than white
whitewash
whiting
whittle
whittle something away
whittle something or someone down
whizz
Related terms of
whittle
whittle something away
whittle something or someone down
Synonyms of 'whittle'
whittle
Explore 'whittle' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of shave
Definition
to remove thin slices from (wood or other material) with a sharp cutting tool
I set the log on the ground and shaved off the bark.
Synonyms
scrape,
plane,
trim,
shear,
whittle,
pare
in the sense of trim
Definition
to make (something) neater by cutting it slightly without changing its basic shape