whit·tle

(wĭt′l, hwĭt′l)

v. whit·tled, whit·tling, whit·tles

v.tr.

a. To cut small bits or pare shavings from (a piece of wood).

b. To fashion or shape in this way: whittle a toy boat.

2. To reduce or eliminate gradually: whittled down the debt by making small payments.

v.intr.

To cut or shape wood with a knife.

[From Middle English whyttel, knife, variant of thwitel, from thwiten, to whittle, from Old English thwītan, to strike, whittle down.]

whit′tler n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

whittling

The surgical alteration of the thumbs or fingers to enable more efficient use of handheld electronic devices such as cell phones.

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References in classic literature

The boy was sitting in a disconsolate little heap by the roadside, whittling half-heartedly at a small stick.

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"Now, say--my friend--don't you know any better than to be whittling the ship all to pieces that way?

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"Ridiculous!" replied Tom Hunter, whittling with his bowie-knife the arms of his easy chair; "but if that be the case there, all that is left for us is to plant tobacco and distill whale-oil."

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