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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

whittle down to size en · VERB

Meanings

  1. Synonym of cut down to size.
    • She seldom suffered fools. With one withering glance, she could whittle my father, who was a big man, down to size. 2012, Sonny Collins, Anasazi Dreams: In Search of Coyote People, page 75:
    • If he starts playing the big, tough hombre on the southside, those boys are just liable to whittle him down to size." 1999, Matt Braun, El Paso, page 14:
    • And also, they're scared that the girls are going to realize what a hottie you are (which they will, if you ever talk to 'em), so they're trying to whittle you down to size before you steal all the women. 2014, Peggy Nicholson, The Baby Bargain:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
whittling down to size Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
whittles down to size Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
whittled down to size Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
whittled down to size Tense=Past lexicographic

Synonyms

cut down to size