whittling

[ hwit-ling, wit- ]

noun

Origin of whittling

First recorded in 1605–15; whittle + -ing¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Even by the beginning of the pandemic, when the museum slashed 25 jobs in April 2020, he said there had been a gradual whittling down of wages and resources for those who make the least.
‘We are in crisis mode’: Museum workers are turning to unions over conditions they say are untenable | Mark Guarino | November 4, 2021 | Washington Post
That's a new song and a very nice one, thought Marmaduke, as he watched the Toyman whittling away by the red fire.
Seven O'Clock Stories | Robert Gordon Anderson
As he was thinking, almost unconsciously he began whittling a stick.
Legend Land, Volume 2 | Various
The beginnings of manual training must indeed be provided for in school; paper cutting, sewing and whittling.
Bill's School and Mine | William Suddards Franklin
His half-day of whittling and laughter that went with it are something that I find pleasant to remember.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete | Albert Bigelow Paine

He was whittling, and he had made some little toy for his son Tad, who ran out as I entered.
The Crisis, Complete | Winston Churchill

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