whittle

whit·tle

W0195600 (wĭt′l, hwĭt′l)v. whit·tled, whit·tling, whit·tles v.tr.1. a. To cut small bits or pare shavings from (a piece of wood).b. To fashion or shape in this way: whittle a toy boat.2. To reduce or eliminate gradually: whittled down the debt by making small payments.v.intr. To cut or shape wood with a knife.

[From Middle English whyttel, knife, variant of thwitel, from thwiten, to whittle, from Old English thwītan, to strike, whittle down.]

whit′tler n.

whittle

(ˈwɪtəl) vb1. (Forestry) to cut or shave strips or pieces from (wood, a stick, etc), esp with a knife2. (Forestry) (tr) to make or shape by paring or shaving3. (tr; often foll by away, down, off, etc) to reduce, destroy, or wear away gradually4. dialect (intr) Northern English to complain or worry about something continuallyn (Tools) dialect Brit a knife, esp a large one[C16: variant of C15 thwittle large knife, from Old English thwitel, from thwītan to cut; related to Old Norse thveitr cut, thveita to beat] ˈwhittler n

Whittle

(ˈwɪtəl) n (Biography) Sir Frank. 1907–96, English engineer, who invented the jet engine for aircraft; flew first British jet aircraft (1941)

whit•tle

(ˈʰwɪt l, ˈwɪt l)

v. -tled, -tling,
n. v.t. 1. to cut, trim, or shape (a piece of wood or the like) by carving off bits with a knife. 2. to form by whittling. 3. to cut off (a bit). 4. to reduce the amount of gradually (usu. fol. by down, away, etc.): to whittle away an inheritance. v.i. 5. to whittle wood or the like with a knife. 6. to tire oneself or another by worrying. n. 7. Archaic. a large knife. [1375–1425; late Middle English (n.), dial. variant of thwitel knife, Old English thwīt(an) to cut]

Whit•tle

(ˈʰwɪt l, ˈwɪt l)

n. Sir Frank, 1907–96, English engineer and inventor.

whittle

Past participle: whittled
Gerund: whittling

Imperative
whittle
whittle

Present
I whittle
you whittle
he/she/it whittles
we whittle
you whittle
they whittle

Preterite
I whittled
you whittled
he/she/it whittled
we whittled
you whittled
they whittled

Present Continuous
I am whittling
you are whittling
he/she/it is whittling
we are whittling
you are whittling
they are whittling

Present Perfect
I have whittled
you have whittled
he/she/it has whittled
we have whittled
you have whittled
they have whittled

Past Continuous
I was whittling
you were whittling
he/she/it was whittling
we were whittling
you were whittling
they were whittling

Past Perfect
I had whittled
you had whittled
he/she/it had whittled
we had whittled
you had whittled
they had whittled

Future
I will whittle
you will whittle
he/she/it will whittle
we will whittle
you will whittle
they will whittle

Future Perfect
I will have whittled
you will have whittled
he/she/it will have whittled
we will have whittled
you will have whittled
they will have whittled

Future Continuous
I will be whittling
you will be whittling
he/she/it will be whittling
we will be whittling
you will be whittling
they will be whittling

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been whittling
you have been whittling
he/she/it has been whittling
we have been whittling
you have been whittling
they have been whittling

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been whittling
you will have been whittling
he/she/it will have been whittling
we will have been whittling
you will have been whittling
they will have been whittling

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been whittling
you had been whittling
he/she/it had been whittling
we had been whittling
you had been whittling
they had been whittling

Conditional
I would whittle
you would whittle
he/she/it would whittle
we would whittle
you would whittle
they would whittle

Past Conditional
I would have whittled
you would have whittled
he/she/it would have whittled
we would have whittled
you would have whittled
they would have whittled

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Whittle - English aeronautical engineer who invented the jet aircraft engine (1907-1996)Frank Whittle, Sir Frank Whittle
Verb	1.	whittle - cut small bits or pare shavings from; "whittle a piece of wood"parecut - separate with or as if with an instrument; "Cut the rope"

whittle

verb carve, cut, hew, shape, trim, shave, pare Chitty sat in his rocking chair whittling a piece of wood.whittle something away undermine, reduce, destroy, consume, erode, eat away, wear away I believe the Government's aim is to whittle away the Welfare State.whittle something or someone down reduce, cut down, cut, decrease, prune, scale down He had whittled the twenty interviewees down to two.

Translations

削削减

whittle

(ˈwitl) verb to cut or shape (eg a stick) with a knife. 削（木头），削减

whittle

whittled

slang Drunk. Try not to get too whittled, OK? You have a big day tomorrow.See also: whittle

whittle down

To reduce the size or scope of something incrementally by removing small parts. The phrase alludes to whittling wood, in which small bits are carved off with a knife. A noun or pronoun can be used between "whittle" and "down." We're not going to make any major cuts, but we do need to whittle down the budget by reducing costs here and there. I think you need to whittle down your thesis to a more concise point. Right now it's a little too broad. Right now your speech is just a little long. Do you think you can whittle it down a bit?See also: down, whittle

whittle away

1. To carve small sections away from something, especially a piece of wood continuously or at length. My grandfather used to sit in his armchair with a hunk of wood and his pocket knife, whittling away for hours at a time.2. To carve small sections away from something, especially a piece of wood, to in order to shape it or make it smaller. A noun or pronoun can be used between "whittle" and "away." We used to sit on our back porch and whittle away blocks of soap into the shapes of tiny animals. I had to keep whittling the edge of the door away until it finally fit into the frame properly.3. To reduce or eliminate the size, scope, or strength of something by incrementally removing small parts. A noun or pronoun can be used between "whittle" and "away." If they keep whittling away our budget like this, our department will have to close down before too long. The president's administration continued to whittle away the powers of congress and the courts until he had complete control of the country. Having to write a thesis this length was daunting, but I've just whittled it away every day for the last three months.See also: away, whittle

whittle away at (something)

1. To carve small sections away from something, especially a piece of wood, to in order to shape it or make it smaller. We used to sit on our back porch and whittle away at blocks of soap until they were in the shapes of tiny animals. I had to keep whittling away at the edge of the door until it fit into the frame properly.2. To reduce or eliminate the size, scope, or strength of something by incrementally removing small parts. If they keep whittling away at our budget like this, our department will have to close down before too long. The president's administration continued to whittle away at the powers of congress and the courts until he had complete control of the country. Having to write a thesis this length was daunting, but I've just whittled away at it every day for the last three months.See also: away, whittle

whittle at something

to cut or carve at something. He just sat there, whittling at a chunk of wood. I am not carving anything, I am just whittling at some wood.See also: whittle

whittle someone down to size

Fig. to reduce someone's ego; to cause someone to have better, more respectful behavior. (Fig. on whittle something down (to size).) After a few days at camp, the counselors had whittled young Walter down to size. It took some doing, but they whittled him down to size.See also: down, size, whittle

whittle something away

to cut or carve something away. The carver whittled the wood away until only a small figure was left. He whittled away the wood.See also: away, whittle

whittle something down (to size)

and whittle something downto cut or diminish something to a more appropriate size or to the proper size. I whittled the peg down to size and it fit in the hole perfectly. You are going to have to whittle down expenses.See also: down, whittle

whittle something out of something

to carve something out of something. The young man whittled a small boat out of wood. Can you whittle an elephant out of this chunk of wood?See also: of, out, whittle

whittle away

v.1. To undermine, reduce, or weaken something by small increments until completely gone or useless: The long climb up the mountain whittled away his strength. We whittled their lead away with a series of small gains. 2. To weaken or be gradually reduced by small increments: My courage whittled away with each step forward I took.3. To eliminate something by whittling it: The carpenter whittled the excess wood away. The sculptor whittled away the clay until a perfect form emerged. 4. To whittle continuously: They whittled away until they had finished carving their sticks into spoons.See also: away, whittle

whittle down

v.1. To reduce the size of some piece of wood by cutting small bits or paring shavings: I whittled down the pencil's tip to expose more lead. I bit nervously on my pencil until I had whittled it down to nothing. 2. To reduce something gradually, as if by whittling with a knife: The couple whittled down their debt by making small payments. We whittled the other team's lead down to one point with a series of small gains.See also: down, whittle

whittled

mod. alcohol intoxicated; filled with liquor. (see also cut.) Fred’s whittled again and shouldn’t drive home. See also: whittle

whittle

whit·tle

whittle

Whittle

whit•tle

Whit•tle

whittle

whittle

whittle

whittle

whittled

whittle down

whittle away

whittle away at (something)

whittle at something

whittle someone down to size

whittle something away

whittle something down (to size)

whittle something out of something

whittle away

whittle down

whittled

whittle

whittle

Whittle

Whittle

Synonyms for Whittle

verb carve

Synonyms

phrase whittle something away

Synonyms

phrase whittle something or someone down

Synonyms

Synonyms for Whittle

noun English aeronautical engineer who invented the jet aircraft engine (1907-1996)

Synonyms

verb cut small bits or pare shavings from

Synonyms

Related Words