Whittle
British engine inventor
Whittle means to carve or shape wood by cutting away thin shavings with a knife: He sat on the porch whittling a stick.
The verb extends to gradual reduction: Budget cuts have whittled the staff down to three people.
To whittle away at something is to diminish it bit by bit.
knife
Sharp cutting utensil
stick · carve · pare · shape · figurine · sliver · chip · curls · bark · cedar
pare down
Reduce by removing excess
erode · chip away · narrow · decrease · shave off · shrink · lessen · cut back · scale down · wear down
- whittle downReduce incrementally
- whittle down to sizeReduce something oversized gradually
- whittling knifeSmall blade for woodcarving
- whittled down to sizeGradually reduced to appropriate scale