To whittle means to carve wood by cutting away small pieces with a knife. Someone whittling might sit on a porch with a piece of wood and a pocketknife, slowly shaving off thin curls until the wood becomes a smooth stick, a small animal figure, or whatever shape they imagine.

Whittling requires patience and careful attention. Each cut removes just a tiny bit of wood, so creating something takes time and steady work. People have whittled for thousands of years, making everything from simple tent stakes to detailed sculptures. Today, many people whittle as a relaxing hobby, enjoying the quiet focus it requires.

The word also means to gradually reduce something bit by bit, the way whittling is done with wood. A writer might whittle down a long essay by cutting unnecessary sentences. A committee might whittle a list of twenty candidates down to five finalists. When you whittle away at a big project by completing small parts each day, you're working just like someone carving wood, making steady progress through many small efforts.