chipping
Britishnoun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The agency has seen a decrease in funding since 2011, with inflation chipping away at a largely stagnant budget.
From Salon • Mar. 13, 2026
KHARKIV, Ukraine—A Ukrainian counterattack in the country’s southeast is chipping away at Russian advances there and demonstrating that Kyiv’s forces have got plenty of fight left as Moscow’s invasion stretches into a fifth year.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026
The French striker took advantage of St. Clair’s poor clearance by chipping the ball over the goalkeeper’s head to take a 2-0 lead.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026
But the story of Andrew's links to Epstein has been decades in the making - and so has Andrew's downfall, first chipping away at his reputation before turning into an avalanche of disgrace.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026
I dug and dug, chipping away at the gray bark until the soft brown inside of the tree glowed with the word, like the tree itself was saying it.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
