whittling
Use Whittling in a sentence
lɪŋ, ˈwɪt-Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
1.
to cut, trim, or shape (a stick, piece of wood, etc.) by carving off bits with a knife.
2.
to form by whittling: to whittle a figure.
3.
to cut off (a bit).
4.
to reduce the amount of, as if by whittling; pare down; take away by degrees (usually followed by down, away, etc.): to whittle down the company's overhead; to whittle away one's inheritance.
verb (used without object)
5.
to whittle wood or the like with a knife, as in shaping something or as a mere aimless diversion: to spend an afternoon whittling.
6.
to tire oneself or another by worrying or fussing.
noun
7.
British Dialect. a knife, especially a large one, as a carving knife or a butcher knife.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English (noun), dialectal variant of thwitel knife, Old English thwīt(an) to cut + -el -le
1375–1425; late Middle English (noun), dialectal variant of thwitel knife, Old English thwīt(an) to cut + -el -le
Related forms
whit·tler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To whittling
00:10
Whittling
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
whittle (ˈwɪtəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to cut or shave strips or pieces from (wood, a stick, etc), esp with a knife |
| 2. | (tr) to make or shape by paring or shaving |
| 3. | (tr; |
| 4. | dialect (Northern English) (intr) to complain or worry about something continually |
| —n | |
| 5. | dialect (Brit) a knife, esp a large one |
| [C16: variant of C15 thwittle large knife, from Old English thwitel, from thwītan to cut; related to Old Norse thveitr cut, thveita to beat] | |
| 'whittler | |
| —n | |
| Whittle (ˈwɪtəl) | |
| —n | |
| Sir Frank. 1907--96, English engineer, who invented the jet engine for aircraft; flew first British jet aircraft (1941) | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
whittle
1550s, "to cut thin shavings from (something) with a knife," from M.E. whittel "a knife" (c1400), variant of thwittle (late 14c.), from O.E. þwitan "to cut," from P.Gmc. *thwitanan (cf. O.N. þveita "to hew"). Figurative sense is attested from 1746. Related: Whittled; whittling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
| Whittle (wĭt'l) Pronunciation Key
British aeronautical engineer and inventor who developed the first aircraft engine powered by jet propulsion in 1937. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Avoid whittling the sides of the trunk down to fit a stand.
Whittling this mountain of degrees, awards, and experience down to one perfect professor will be daunting.
We continue this process of whittling down the number of possible candidates with each bit of new information.
But, of course, they've been whittling away at their music offerings for quite a while now.
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