Definition of "whittling" in English

verb

1. present participle and gerund of whittle

noun

1. (usually in the plural) A chip or shaving whittled from some larger substance.

2. The art of carving shapes out of raw wood using a knife.

3. A process of repeatedly shaving slivers from a piece of wood (non-artistic).

4. (figurative, by extension) The reducing of something by degrees, especially at the expense of some effort.

   • a whittling down