as in 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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whittled
Verb
-
Giants starter Jason Pinnock was cut while playing under Manuel for the Jets in 2021.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
22 Jan. 2025 -
Though Trump promised to bring down interest rates on the campaign trail, the president does not directly impact monetary policy, and the Fed many not cut interest rates again for a few months.—
Samantha Delouya,
CNN,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The net simply gets clipped onto the detector as needed.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
30 Dec. 2024
-
The car moved across multiple lanes, clipped another vehicle, struck the outer retention wall then careened back across all lanes of traffic.—
Hope Karnopp,
Journal Sentinel,
15 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
The Wild snapped a four-game losing streak, scored more than two goals in a game and at least lowered the rising temperature heading into the NHL’s holiday hiatus by rallying for a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night.—
Michael Russo,
The Athletic,
24 Dec. 2024
-
The Wild snapped a four-game losing streak, scored more than two goals in a game and at least lowered the rising temperature heading into the NHL’s holiday hiatus by rallying for a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night.—
Michael Russo,
The Athletic,
24 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
The 10-year yield jumped 13 basis points last week after the Federal Reserve pared down rate-cut projections, indicating only two more interest rate cuts lie ahead in 2025, down from four potential cuts that had been signaled in September.—
Jenni Reid,
CNBC,
23 Dec. 2024
-
The two pared down their guest list to just 60 people.—
Christine Rousselle,
Fox News,
21 Dec. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Thesaurus Entries Near whittled
Cite this Entry
“Whittled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whittled. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share