How to Use whittling in a Sentence

whittling

noun
  • Guests can watch aproned masters at work— chisels and gouges in hand—shaping, grooving, and whittling.
    — Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Aug. 2025
  • The cuts are being ironed out and officials predict the whittling won't be as severe as what's been suggested in earlier proposals.
    — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • There’s no whittling down your magic number when your season is already mathematically tragic.
    — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • While Ma handled the quilting and Pa the whittling, the girls often made crowns from wildflowers, dolls from cloth or paper, and homemade garlands for the holidays.
    — Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 July 2026
  • First two of 104 matches are this coming Thursday as 12 four-team groups begin the whittling process from 48 nations to a round-of-32.
    — Greg Cote june 7, Miami Herald, 7 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whittling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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