˜yÐÄvlog

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whittle

1

[ hwit-l, wit-l ]

verb (used with object)

whittled, whittling.
  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)

whittled, whittling.
  1. to whittle wood or the like with a knife, as in shaping something or as a mere aimless diversion:

    to spend an afternoon whittling.

  2. to tire oneself or another by worrying or fussing.

noun

  1. British Dialect. a knife, especially a large one, as a carving knife or a butcher knife.

Whittle

2

[ hwit-l, wit-l ]

noun

  1. Sir Frank, 1907–96, English engineer and inventor.

whittle

1

/ ˈ·Éɪ³ÙÉ™±ô /

verb

  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; often foll by away, down, off, etc to reduce, destroy, or wear away gradually
  4. dialect.
    intr to complain or worry about something continually
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. dialect.
    a knife, esp a large one
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Whittle

2

/ ˈ·Éɪ³ÙÉ™±ô /

noun

  1. WhittleSir Frank19071996MEnglishTECHNOLOGY: engineerTECHNOLOGY: inventor Sir Frank. 1907–96, English engineer, who invented the jet engine for aircraft; flew first British jet aircraft (1941)
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Whittle

/ ·ÉÄ­³Ù′l /

  1. British aeronautical engineer and inventor who developed the first aircraft engine powered by jet propulsion in 1937.
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ·É³ó¾±³Ù³Ù±ô±ð°ù, noun
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Other ˜yÐÄvlog Forms

  • ·É³ó¾±³Ùt±ô±ð°ù noun
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of whittle1

1375–1425; late Middle English (noun), dialectal variant of thwitel knife, Old English ³Ù³ó·ÉÄ«³Ù ( an ) to cut + -el -le
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˜yÐÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of whittle1

C16: variant of C15 thwittle large knife, from Old English thwitel, from ³Ù³ó·ÉÄ«³Ùan to cut; related to Old Norse thveitr cut, thveita to beat
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But that profit gets whittled away once you add in the cost of other business operations.

From

These were whittled down to 43 individual allegations of racism against 27 people that could be investigated further - including 13 claims from Mr Haq that spanned his club and international career.

From

Then, executive producer Michaels whittles a pile of 40 or so sketches down to about 15 — maybe 10 that everyone agrees on, plus another five outliers.

From

But soon they'd whittled down the list to just one name: his.

From

In the new series, the students are pitted against each other as the number of scholarships are to be whittled down from five to three.

From

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