| 释义 |
whittle away at something
phrasal verb with whittleverb[ T ]uk /ˈwɪt.əl/ us /ˈwɪt̬.əl/
to gradually reduce the size or importance of something: 削减；削弱
These measures will whittle away at the budget deficit.这些方法将会逐渐减少预算赤字。
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Becoming and making smaller or less
abridgment
attenuate
attenuated
attenuating
attenuation
compress
contraction
dwindle
dwindling
ease
ease someone's mindidiom
ease up/off
halve
recede
reduce
reducible
reduction
resize
trough
tumble
whittle away (at) something | American Dictionary
whittle away (at) something
idiom(alsowhittle something down)
to gradually make something smaller or less important:
We’ve whittled away at our debts.
By halftime their lead had been whittled down to two points.
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