0 present participle of whittle --
1 to make something from a piece of wood by cutting off small, thin pieces: --
We are exploring possible ways of reducing difficulties caused by the present restrictions without whittling away the fuel savings which they achieve.
The importer has to pay the same in the end, however much he might succeed in whittling down the price in bargaining with our suppliers.
Once you start to pick and choose between one establishment and another, you are whittling away the unity of the trade unionists in that strike.
It is whittling down the value of the measure.
There is no whittling down of the £300 million by a penny.
We have no intention of whittling away that positon.
To describe that as a whittling away—although those exact words were not used, that was what was implied—is not accurate.
If ever there was a method of whittling down our traditional systems of collective bargaining, that was it.
