whittle down

phrasal verb

whittled down; whittling down; whittles down

: to gradually make (something) smaller by removing parts

We whittled the list down to four people.

Examples of whittle down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Yet in less than two years, that island has been whittled down by the sea to barely a dot — not much remains in the third photograph, dating to the end of 2024. —

Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 18 Jan. 2025 The initial 41-count indictment has since been whittled down by McAfee, but Trump still faces eight charges in the case, down from the original 13. —

Erin Doherty, Axios, 19 Dec. 2024 Corporate regulation has been whittled down over the last 40 years, and executives typically face little personal accountability for even their most inhumane decisions. —

Aja Romano, Vox, 7 Dec. 2024 Eight tracks culled from extensive jamming have been whittled down into hearty exercises in patient instrumental interplay. —

Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for whittle down