whittle

For more than a decade, I’ve been teaching a course at the California Institute of the Arts called American Drama Now, and each year the selection of plays has become harder to whittle down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Builders had hoped to capitalize on a busy spring buying season to whittle down inventories, but it was disappointing.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026

Franklin wants his client to whittle down his holdings once the company goes public.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

If you have a highly concentrated stock allocation with large built-up gains, you can gradually whittle down your position and use the $6,000 deduction to minimize or cancel the tax hit, Adams says.

From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026

The first day is used to whittle down two hundred fencers to forty-eight.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

That’s because inflation whittles away at the real purchasing power of those future interest payments.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026

A newer House version whittles this down to 23 countries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025

This event often whittles down the primary field to a handful of candidates.

From Reuters ● Aug. 16, 2023

“We all start as strong people, it seems, but then ultimately the power whittles away at our souls and changes who we are. Look, I’m not built for that.”

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2023

It whittles you down to lie up to fifty times in the space of the fifteen minutes or so it takes to do a “survey,” even when there’s a higher moral purpose to serve.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

As federal officials have whittled down the countries that still qualify for Temporary Protected Status, Salvadorans make up the largest population of remaining beneficiaries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

Even the final list of 16 host cities, whittled down from 23, came down to his personal preferences.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

That marks the reversal of a 15-year period when company buybacks and mergers-and-acquisitions activity whittled down the actual number of shares out there to invest, giving stocks fuel to keep rising, said McElligott.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

In the face of opposition from riders and delays in building charging stations, authorities have since whittled down the proposal to cover just 11 streets spread over 0.5 square kilometres.

From Barron's ● May 19, 2026

He managed to tear a flat strip of wood from a nearby log and with his pearl-handled penknife whittled a shapely handle.

From "Abel's Island" by William Steig

Pochettino’s task now, with only four exhibition matches remaining before the World Cup kicks off, is whittling down a squad that he has spent over a year tinkering with.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025

But the key is to put a cap on how much you spend to avoid falling into the trap of whittling away your winnings.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 12, 2025

What that does is test the creativity of Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman to devise ways to fortify the line and protect Herbert without whittling away too many offensive options.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2025

Seated alone at the defence table and dressed in a grey jacket and red-striped tie, Routh joined the process of whittling down 180 local residents to 12 jurors and four alternates.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025

He sits on a chair in the corner, whittling on his mop handle, like he’s turning it into a very thin totem pole.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman