whittle

• Verbe utilisé pour décrire l'action de tailler ou de façonner le bois en enlevant de fins copeaux, ou, au sens figuré, pour réduire progressivement quelque chose.

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.

   sculpter au couteau

   • 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.

   Synonymescarvecutfashionhewpareshapeshavetrim

2. Reduce graduallyB2formal

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

   Réduire progressivement

   • 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.

   Synonymescutdecreasediminisherodelessenparereducescale downshavetrim

   Antonymesamplifyaugmentboostenlargeexpandgrowincrease

Variantes phrasalwhittle awaywhittle down