whittle down

英 [ˈwɪtl daʊn]

美 [ˈwɪtl daʊn]

逐渐减少; 逐渐压缩…的人数

柯林斯词典

• PHRASAL VERB 逐渐减少;逐渐压缩…的人数
  Towhittle downa group or thing means to gradually make it smaller.
  1. He had whittled eight interviewees down to two...
     他已经逐渐将参加面试的人数由8人减少到2人。
  2. By September, they will have whittled the list down to a winner...
     9月之前他们会从名单中确定出最后的赢家。
  3. The president has agreed to whittle down his proposal.
     总统已经同意减少他的提案。

英英释义

verb

• cut away in small pieces
  Synonym:whittle awaywear away

双语例句

• He had whittled eight interviewees down to two
  他已经逐渐将参加面试的人数由8人减少到2人。
• Ultimately, Mr. Penn said, Uber wants to whittle Beijing's time down to five minutes.
  Penn称，Uber希望最终将北京客户的等待时间降至五分钟。
• While the military gap between China and the United States may remain for some time, he argued, china's faster economic growth and increasing political strength may whittle down america's overall advantage.
  他辩称，尽管中国和美国相比，军事上还有一段时间的差距，但中国更快的经济增长和日趋强大的政治实力应可削减美国的总体优势。
• Don't whittle the stick down too much or it won't be long enough.
  别把那棍削得太多，不然就不够长了。
• Just whittle it down, you know?
  把它简化一点？
• The president has agreed to whittle down his proposal.
  总统已经同意减少他的提案。
• BERLIN ( Reuters Life!)– Challenged with a100 million euro ($ 133 million) deficit, one western German city has introduced a day tax on prostitutes to help whittle down its budget gap.
  柏林（路透社）-受100万欧元（1.33亿美元）赤字的冲击，德国西部城市之一引入妓女住宿税，以帮助削减其预算缺口。
• In the case of private equity, critics worry that a capital gains tax regime designed to stimulate the growth of smaller quoted companies is being used to whittle down the tax rate on the "carried interest" of private equity bosses to an unjustifiably low level.
  以私人股本行业为例，批评人士担心，以激励小规模上市企业增长为目的的资本利得税体制，正被用于将私人股本高管的“附带权益”（carriedinterest）税率降低至不合理的水平。
• By September, they will have whittled the list down to a winner
  9月之前他们会从名单中确定出最后的赢家。
• Whittle the stick down a bit more.
  把木棍再削细点儿。