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
Abercrombie also whittled down its full-year guidance for earnings per share.
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Alex Harring,sarah Min, CNBC, 27 May 2025
The Trestles Pro contest comes after a mid-year cut, so the number of surfers trying to earn a spot on this year’s WSL Final 5, to be held in Fiji, is whittled down.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 24 May 2025
Listen to this article County water officials are still whittling down a wholesale water rate hike scheduled for next year by making budget cuts and projecting more robust sales to local water agencies.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 May 2025
The 2026 inductees were chosen during a closed-door voting session at the Charlotte Convention Center, where a panel of NASCAR executives, track owners, media, team members, and past champions—plus fan input from NASCAR.com—whittled down 15 nominees.
—Greg Engle, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
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“Whittle down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whittle%20down. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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