How to Use whittle down in a Sentence

whittle down

phrasal verb

• The six candidates were whittled down from 80 who sought to take part in the vote.
  — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 28 June 2024
• Prior to the start of the first round, the field will be whittled down to 64 teams as eight teams compete in the First Four play-in round.
  — Jordan Freiman, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2024
• Over the next few hours, they were whittled down until 200 emerged as the next batch of senators.
  — Koh Ewe, TIME, 28 June 2024
• On this occasion, there are five of them, although soon enough they are whittled down to one.
  — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2023
• The field will be whittled down when all ballots are received later this week.
  — Olivia Diaz, Washington Post, 21 June 2023
• But with so many brands, materials, and options to choose from, whittling down your search to find the very best outdoor decor can be a doozy.
  — Kelsey Mulvey, Sunset Magazine, 17 June 2024
• After all, our cast of characters has been more or less whittled down to two people.
  — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 June 2024
• Now that list has probably been whittled down to two, the aging Kershaw and the rookie Miller, and there are questions about how long the Dodgers can survive.
  — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2023
• The state attorney general’s office took over the case, which was whittled down from 13 accusers to two, and now just the woman known as Jane Doe.
  — Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023
• The crowd erupted when the senior hit two straight shots to give his Mavericks momentum while whittling down the Falcons’ lead.
  — Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2024
• Still, the annual task of whittling down the year’s releases to a Top 10 was more challenging than ever.
  — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2023
• By the end of Tuesday’s proceedings, the pool of qualified jurors was whittled down to 50 people.
  — Tory Newmyer, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2023
• The vast majority of those named on the witness list – which is used to help attorneys and the court whittle down the jury pool – will not be called to testify.
  — Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 15 May 2024
• The list has been whittled down from over 100 different artistic and glassmaking teams.
  — Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Sep. 2024
• With the season kicking off with 21 amateur cooks, the numbers have slowly been whittled down.
  — Alexandra Koster, refinery29.com, 4 July 2024
• Before Sunday's finale, they will be whittled down to the top three finalists.
  — Keryn Donnelly, refinery29.com, 17 Apr. 2024
• When the trial finally did begin, the number of co-defendants had been whittled down to six.
  — Ashley Oliver, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 13 June 2024
• This way, the trucker can keep more of his hauling profits, which would otherwise be whittled down by the official dump fees.
  — Julia Shipley, WIRED, 13 Jan. 2024
• At first, about 10 people showed interest before the list was whittled down to the seven unicyclists who make up the current team.
  — Josh Reed, Anchorage Daily News, 16 July 2023
• The flashlight on my cap was feeble, its shine whittled down to intermittent smears of butterscotch against the dark fabric of night.
  — Okwiri Oduor, Harper's Magazine, 15 June 2022
• Some guests had to make subsequent attempts to visit but found that wait times this week had whittled down to 20 to 40 minutes since the first Saturday of business.
  — Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2024
• Part of the goal of carrying out the ground tests while the vehicle is still in space, Nappi said, is to try to whittle down possible reasons the thrusters malfunctioned.
  — Jackie Wattles, CNN, 28 June 2024
• Biden took office vowing to whittle down the debt burden on student and graduates.
  — Abha Bhattarai, Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2023
• The applicants were whittled down for on-site interviews with the committee.
  — Jake Allen, The Indianapolis Star, 15 Feb. 2024
• White said the preseason game will also be key for those evaluations as the staff attempts to whittle down to 11 players.
  — Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 8 May 2024
• The Ducks further whittled down their group in camp on Tuesday morning, dropping to 18 forwards, 11 defensemen and three healthy goalies.
  — Andrew Knoll, Orange County Register, 1 Oct. 2024
• Then, Journal Sentinel staff whittle down the pool of candidates to a shortlist of finalists and turn to the public for help choosing that week's winner.
  — Journal Sentinel, 19 Feb. 2024
• The Voice has whittled down the competition to its last five contestants of season 24 during its Tuesday night (Dec. 12) episode.
  — Starr Bowenbank, Billboard, 13 Dec. 2023
• Over the course of about a year, Chen tested different ways of whittling down the metal by effectively sandblasting it with atoms.
  — Quanta Magazine, 28 Nov. 2023
• And, for a special treat, there is a standout scene with Al Pacino, playing a moneyed collector who tries and fails to whittle down Modi’s ego.
  — Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 24 Sep. 2024

Last Updated: 9 Dec 2024