whittle sth down
— phrasal verb with whittle uk/ˈwɪt.əl/us/ˈwɪt̬.əl/verb [ T ]
to gradually reduce the size of something or the number of people in a group:
We had 80 applicants for the job, but we've whittled them down to six.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Becoming and making smaller or less
- a nip (here) and a tuck (there) idiom
- attenuate
- axe
- bite
- bite into sth
- dive
- drain
- let sth down
- let up
- lower
- make a hole in sth idiom
- miniaturization
- minimize
- shrink
- slash
- step sth down
- strip sth away
- stripped down
- subside
- tail off
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