whittle down

English

Verb

whittle down (third-person singular simple present whittles down, present participle whittling down, simple past and past participle whittled down)

1. (transitive) To reduce gradually by removing pieces.
   • 2015, Mike Cooley, “Made Up English Oceans”, in English Oceans, performed by Drive-By Truckers:

     Only simple men can see the logic in whatever smarter men can whittle down till you can fit it on a sticker.

   • 2023 March 30, Carlotta Gall, “Ukrainians in a Hidden Command Post See Bakhmut Going Their Way”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     To Ukraine, it has become an important line to hold, both to whittle down Russia’s forces and to deprive them of a victory.

Derived terms

• whittle down to size

Further reading

• “whittle down”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “whittle down”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.
• “whittle down” (US) / “whittle down” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.