as in to cut
to cause to diminish gradually by or as if by cutting off bits with a knife
He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of whittle
In its 14th round of disposals, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. eclipsed $10 billion of total proceeds from whittling its stake in the second-largest US bank, a regulatory filing on Monday shows.
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Katherine Doherty, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2024
By Thursday night, the group — including San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and Cole Cameron, chair of the Santa Clara County Veterans Commission — had whittled the gap to about $30,000, which included a cushion for unexpected costs.
—Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2024
Lawsuits over its platform counterfeiting people’s designs and concerns over its supply chain practices have whittled the chances of a U.S. IPO.
—Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 24 Sep. 2024
After months of proposals and site visits, Sundance has whittled the swath of contenders for a potential new home for the festival down to three.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for whittle 
Katherine Doherty, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2024
By Thursday night, the group — including San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and Cole Cameron, chair of the Santa Clara County Veterans Commission — had whittled the gap to about $30,000, which included a cushion for unexpected costs.
—Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 28 Sep. 2024
Lawsuits over its platform counterfeiting people’s designs and concerns over its supply chain practices have whittled the chances of a U.S. IPO.
—Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 24 Sep. 2024
After months of proposals and site visits, Sundance has whittled the swath of contenders for a potential new home for the festival down to three.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 12 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for whittle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittle
Verb
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Other photos highlighted more moments from their evening including group family shots, her sister-in-law cutting the turkey and the food spread.Emma Aerin Becker, People.com, 30 Nov. 2024
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Part of that performance has been fueled by expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates into next year, after reducing borrowing costs by 75 basis points in 2024.Lewis Krauskopf, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2024
Verb
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American Airlines Flight 109 clipped the tip of a wing on a Frontier Airlines plane at Terminal E, airline officials reported.Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 27 Nov. 2024
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The trailer then clipped to her speaking about using colorful language in front of her girls.Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, 26 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Treasury yields, however, pared losses after an auction of U.S. three-year notes priced higher than expectations, suggesting market participants demanded a premium to take down the note.Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
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The cash hoard has grown as Berkshire pared down stakes in key holdings such as Apple and Bank of America .Fred Imbert, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2024
Verb
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In March 2019, all charges were dropped after the Cook County state’s attorney reached a deal with his defense team that included Smollett taking part in community service and forfeiting a $10,000 bond.Ellise Shafer, Variety, 21 Nov. 2024
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The idea is that if the trees that produced the acorns were successful enough at warding off flood damage to drop seeds, those seeds might be similarly resilient if replanted.Madeline Heim, Journal Sentinel, 21 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The company acknowledges the risk of needing to curtail spending if financing is not secured.Quartz Bot, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
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Iran is building up its defense relationship with Russia even as its escalating conflict with Israel may temporarily curtail its weapons shipments.Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Whittle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittle. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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