to whittle away at something
1whittle away — verb cut away in small pieces • Syn: ↑whittle down, ↑wear away • Hypernyms: ↑damage • Verb Frames: Somebody s something Something s something * * * ˌ …
2whittle away — phrasal verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms whittle away : present tense I/you/we/they whittle away he/she/it whittles away present participle whittling away past tense whittled away past participle whittled away to gradually reduce the… …
3whittle away — PHRASAL VERB To whittle away something or whittle away at it means to gradually make it smaller, weaker, or less effective. [V P n (not pron)] I believe that the Government s general aim is to whittle away the Welfare State... [V P at n] Their… …
4whittle something down — whittle (something) down to gradually reduce or destroy something. By halftime our team s lead had been whittled down to only two points. College is so expensive, after two years, my college fund has been whittled away to almost nothing. Usage… …
5whittle down — whittle (something) down to gradually reduce or destroy something. By halftime our team s lead had been whittled down to only two points. College is so expensive, after two years, my college fund has been whittled away to almost nothing. Usage… …
6whittle down — verb cut away in small pieces • Syn: ↑whittle away, ↑wear away • Hypernyms: ↑damage • Verb Frames: Somebody s something Something s something * * * ˌ …
7whittle — whit|tle [ˈwıtl] v [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: whittle large knife (15 19 centuries), from thwittle (14 19 centuries), from thwite to whittle (11 19 centuries), from Old English thwitan] 1.) also whittle down [T] to gradually make something smaller …
8whittle — whit|tle [ wıtl, hwıtl ] verb transitive to make an object out of wood by cutting pieces off the wood with a small knife ,whittle a way phrasal verb intransitive or transitive to gradually reduce the amount or importance of something: The team… …
9whittle — whittler, n. /hwit l, wit l/, v., whittled, whittling, n. v.t. 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 …
10whittle — [c]/ˈwɪtl / (say witl) verb (whittled, whittling) –verb (t) 1. to cut, trim, or shape (a stick, piece of wood, etc.) by taking off bits with a knife. 2. to cut off (a bit or bits). –verb (i) 3. to cut bits or chips from wood or the like with a… …
