- to cut, trim, or shape (a stick, piece of wood, etc.) by carving off bits with a knife.
- to form by whittling: to whittle a figure.
- to cut off (a bit).
- to reduce the amount of, as if by whittling; pare down; take away by degrees (usually followed by down, away, etc.): to whittle down the company's overhead; to whittle away one's inheritance.
- to whittle wood or the like with a knife, as in shaping something or as a mere aimless diversion: to spend an afternoon whittling.
- to tire oneself or another by worrying or fussing.
- a knife, especially a large one, as a carving knife or a butcher knife.
- English engineer and inventor.
- to cut or shave strips or pieces from (wood, a stick, etc), esp with a knife
- to make or shape by paring or shaving
- to reduce, destroy, or wear away gradually
- to complain or worry about something continually
- a knife, esp a large one
- Sir Frank. 1907–96, English engineer, who invented the jet engine for aircraft; flew first British jet aircraft (1941)
