whittle
verb (used with object)
to cut, trim, or shape (a stick, piece of wood, etc.) by carving off bits with a knife.
had whittled
-
past perfectof whittle.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
They had whittled it down significantly from $18,000, “but then Christmas happened,” Orth said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
But the boost that Amazon's cloud could reap from powering businesses' AI demand has yet to materialize in full, while those same customers had whittled down spending wherever they could.
From Reuters ● Aug. 3, 2023
His clothes hung loose; months in prison had whittled down his formerly heavy frame.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2023
Law enforcement agencies had whittled down its membership and riddled its rank and file with informants, setting off reprisals within the organization.
From New York Times ● Dec. 21, 2022
Pa had whittled the hooks out of a green stick with his knife, and had driven their straight ends deep into holes in the log.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
