What does "whittle" mean?
A knife; especially, a clasp-knife, pocket knife, or sheath knife.
Whittle
/ˈʍɪtəl/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A knife; especially, a clasp-knife, pocket knife, or sheath knife.
- Grammar: whittle is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: pare, amputate, ax, bisect.
- Useful contrasts: expand, fill, increase.
- Usage evidence: The new president wants to whittle down spending on health care to a bare minimum.
How to use "whittle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "whittle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "whittle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "whittle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "whittle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "whittle" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "pare" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "whittle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A knife; especially, a clasp-knife, pocket knife, or sheath knife.
"Novv if any man can be ſo unkind to his ovvn Body, for I meddle not vvith your Souls, as to ſtand ſtill like a good Chriſtian, and offer his VVeeſon to a Butcher's VVhittle, I ſay no more but that he may be ſav'd, and that's the beſt can come on him."
- 2 A coarse greyish double blanket worn by countrywomen, in the west of England, over the shoulders, like a cloak or shawl. archaic
"Her figure is tall , graceful , and slight ; the severity of its outlines suiting well with the severity of her dress , with the brown stuff gown , and plain gray whittle"
- 3 A whittle shawl; a kind of fine woollen shawl, originally and especially a white one. archaic
Verb
- 1 To cut or shape wood with a knife. intransitive, transitive
"He was sitting on a bench before the fire, with his feet on the stove hearth, and in one hand was holding close up to his face that little negro idol of his; peering hard into its face, and with a jack-knife gently whittling away at its nose, meanwhile humming to himself in his heathenish way."
- 2 cut small bits or pare shavings from wordnet
- 3 To reduce or gradually eliminate something (such as a debt). transitive
- 4 To make eager or excited; to excite with liquor; to inebriate. figuratively, transitive
"When men are well whitled, their toungs run at randome"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 An unincorporated community in Russell County, Kentucky, United States. countable, uncountable
Example
"The new president wants to whittle down spending on health care to a bare minimum."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "whittle"?
Common synonyms include: pare, amputate, ax, bisect, blade, butcher.
How do you use "whittle" in a sentence?
The new president wants to whittle down spending on health care to a bare minimum.
How do you pronounce "whittle"?
Pronounced /ˈʍɪtəl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English whittel (“large knife”), an alteration of thwitel, itself from thwiten (“to whittle”), from Old English þwītan (“to strike down, whittle”), from Proto-Germanic *þwītaną, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *twey- (“to shake, hurl, toss”). Compare Old Norse þveita (“to hurl”), Ancient Greek σείω (seíō, “I shake”). Related to thwite and thwaite.
Etymology 2
From Middle English whytel, from Old English hwītel (“cloak, blanket”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwītil, from Proto-Germanic *hwītilaz, equivalent to white + -le; akin to Icelandic hvítill (“white bedcover, sheet, linen”).