whittle

• فعل يُستخدم لوصف عملية نحت الخشب أو تشكيله بقَطع قطع صغيرة رقيقة منه، أو مجازًا للتقليل التدريجي من شيء ما.

A verb used to describe the act of carving or shaping wood by cutting small, thin pieces off, or metaphorically, to gradually reduce something.

1. Carve woodB2formal

   To cut small bits or pare shavings from a piece of wood, typically with a knife, to shape it.

   نحت الخشب

   • He whittled a small bird from a block of pine.
   • She spent the afternoon whittling a wooden whistle.
   • The old man whittled a walking stick from a branch.

   المرادفاتcarvecutfashionhewpareshapeshavetrim

2. Reduce graduallyB2formal

   To gradually reduce or diminish something, such as costs, time, or resources.

   التقليص التدريجي

   • The company whittled down its expenses over several months.
   • We need to whittle the list of candidates to just three.
   • He whittled away at the problem until he found a solution.

   المرادفاتcutdecreasediminisherodelessenparereducescale downshavetrim

   الأضدادamplifyaugmentboostenlargeexpandgrowincrease

الصيغ المركّبةwhittle awaywhittle down