How to Use whittle in a Sentence

whittle

verb
  • He was sitting on the porch, whittling a stick.
  • She whittled a walking stick from a maple tree branch.
  • This, in turn, will whittle stream flows.
    — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 31 Mar. 2026
  • That number was whittled to 11% by the time talks broke down.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 21 July 2023
  • One of the team’s goals was to whittle down the prep time to enable a full day of shooting.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 31 Aug. 2022
  • His potential backer sent him away four times to whittle down the costs.
    — Elaine Pofeldt, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2022
  • Why not whittle your waistline and stay hydrated at the same time?
    — Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 19 July 2022
  • My leg muscles wasted and my arms seemed whittled into bone.
    — Tatiana Schlossberg, New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2025
  • Next, your votes whittled the field of contenders to the Top 10 picks.
    — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 12 June 2026
  • Once the four regions whittle down their combatants, only one team will emerge from each.
    — Jason Kurtz, CNN, 15 Mar. 2021
  • Then, dream big, but whittle down your initial projects to a very modest trial garden.
    — baltimoresun.com, 3 Feb. 2022
  • His work as an accountant had spared him the sun marks and whittled skin that Mother carried.
    — Literary Hub, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Beauty was whittling myself down with anorexia and the gasps of college friends at the beauty of my bones through my skin.
    — Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than when the child in The Road whittles a flute from wood.
    — Caine O'Rear, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2023
  • But even bad songs are tough to whittle into a list and culling some of the worst offenders is highly subjective.
    — Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 23 Dec. 2025
  • But even bad songs are tough to whittle into a list and culling some of the worst offenders is highly subjective.
    — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 4 Dec. 2025
  • The Titans hit a couple threes the rest of the way to whittle the deficit to single digits by halftime.
    — Todd Rosiak, Journal Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2024
  • Next, your votes whittled the field of contenders to the Top 10 picks, then down to the Top 5.
    — Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 15 June 2026
  • Of note, many of those key planks are now at the center of areas moderates want to whittle down, or tweak structurally.
    — Phil Mattingly, CNN, 24 Sep. 2021
  • Utah Valley then missed a dunk and the Bearcats had several chances to whittle the lead down again but missed the shots.
    — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 23 Mar. 2023
  • The Tigers whittled one of those UK leads down to five points with just over 10 minutes left.
    — Kansas City Star, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Specifically, retinol smooths fine lines, lessens wrinkle depth, and whittles the appearance of large pores.
    — Sophie Wirt, InStyle, 29 May 2026
  • Reynoldsburg began to whittle away at the lead late in the third quarter, cutting it to 41-36.
    — Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 13 Mar. 2022
  • Boston roared to a 32-point third-quarter lead that was whittled to 12 during the fourth quarter.
    — Adam Himmelsbach, BostonGlobe.com, 15 Apr. 2023
  • Healthy Beauty Awards slathered them on in all types of weather to whittle down the best sunscreens for using head-to-toe.
    — Lori Keong, SELF, 1 June 2021
  • How did the two of you whittle down the admittedly massive Glee catalog?
    — ELLE, 8 Apr. 2022
  • There are many things to keep in mind when searching for the tool that will give you the right amount of lift, but these criteria are helpful to whittle down your options.
    — Alyssa Brascia, Peoplemag, 19 Sep. 2022
  • But Mair, too, has had to whittle his lab down to just five people and shelved many of the team’s more ambitious experiments.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Republicans have opted to whittle down their field at a convention May 8 that will be held at sites across the state.
    — Sarah Rankin, Star Tribune, 8 Apr. 2021
  • Once all names are submitted, the Dulles Greenway will whittled the down and the public will then get to vote on their favorites.
    — Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY, 11 May 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whittle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: