whittle
To cut or shape wood with a knifeTo cut or shape wood with a knife.
Recorded US: EncycloPetey, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
» Tom took out his knife and started whittling a piece of wood.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(intransitive, transitive)To cut or shape wood with a knife.
schnitzen
выстру́гиватьvystrúgivatʹ, выреза́тьvyrezátʹ
струга́тиstruháty, ви́стругатиvýstruhaty
(transitive)To reduce or gradually eliminate something (such as a debt).
wegschnibbeln
уменьша́тьumenʹšátʹ, своди́ть на нетsvodítʹ na net
(figuratively, transitive)To make eager or excited; to excite with liquor; to inebriate.
- cut small bits or pare shavings from
Examples
14 sentencesTom took out his knife and started whittling a piece of wood.
What are you whittling?
ruЧто ты строгаешь? — odexed
I still love to whittle.
Ziri whittled the branch into shape.
Lack of sleep whittled away her energy.
ruНедостаток сна изничтожил её энергию. — shanghainese
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English whittel (“large knife”), an alteration of thwitel, itself from thwitenFrom 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.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
whittles, whittling, whittled, whittledPhrasal verbs
2 phrasal verbsSynonyms
1 synonyms- cut small bits or pare shavings from:pare
Word family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.