- present participle of whittle.
Etymology
Origin of whittling
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.
Pochettino’s task now, with only four exhibition matches remaining before the World Cup kicks off, is whittling down a squad that he has spent over a year tinkering with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025
But the key is to put a cap on how much you spend to avoid falling into the trap of whittling away your winnings.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2025
And Bryson DeChambeau was whittling away after losing five of the first seven to Fitzpatrick.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2025
Doing so would fast-track the bills into law without the normal whittling down that happens in committee hearings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2025
I spent the evening whittling and thinking about the owl high in the forest with the first new life of the spring.”
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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.
