to chip away
24
4.2
- phrasal verb
- /tʃɪp əˈweɪ/
:
desgastar
- If you chip away at your debt a little each month, it will become more manageable.
Our confidence in collective action has been chipped away, partly because of ideology and rhetoric.
- Our confidence in collective action has been chipped away, partly because of ideology and rhetoric.
- But the most important thing is not stopping when you get knocked down that you keep chipping away.
- It has taken me, you know, a lot of years just to start chipping away at that.
- And these people will continue to chip away at your confidence, to chip away at the human that you are.
- What another question here, what are some positive daily habits or rituals someone could adopt to chip away at limiting beliefs?
- It's like, and if we're not fully here and we're using it as a tool, it uses us and it is chipping away at our sense of self worth.
- You know, the thing about imposter syndrome also is it's a mindset, you know, that takes time and effort to chip away at.
- And so now mathematicians can start chipping away at, you know, like, how small can these counterexamples be?
- But then it was my fault that I'd gone through his phone and then he'd put me down in my appearance, so he chipped away at me.
Examples
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And these people will continue to chip away at your confidence, to chip away at the human that you are.
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Injustice like that can really, really chip away at you.
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And over time, this can chip away at your sense of self worth and self respect.
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But as the years go by, life just chips away at it.
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We have been trying to improve and chip away at our debt, but it is hard.
Blog text (11) -
And so if you start to chip away at that problem, you can change the dynamic.
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But we'll slowly start chipping away at this.
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The Knights have one more chance here to chip away at this lead before halftime.
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Day-to-day conversations chip away at the perception that this goal remains out of reach for some.
Academic text (2012) -
We have a dedicated debug team who are chipping away at the game even now.
Blog text (7)
Synonyms
104
2.3
To break off a small piece of an object
27
4.0
Remove an outside layer or covering from something to show what is under it
25
4.4
To damage something slowly over time, for example a building or a person's confidence
18
4.6
Gradually make something weaker by repeated small actions
10
5.1
To make a list or group smaller by removing items over time
9
4.3
Pull things away one at a time
3
3.2
Break a small piece from something by hitting or pressing it
3
3.9
To come off a surface in small thin pieces
3
5.9
To make something smaller gradually by cutting or wearing it away
2
3.8
To slowly remove material by rubbing or long use
1
5.4
To remove small pieces from something slowly by steady effort
1
3.9
To remove small pieces from a surface by cutting or hitting it
1
9.7
To break off in small pieces from stone or concrete
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to gradually remove or reduce something' is directly built from 'chip' (to break off small pieces) plus 'away' (removal), so a learner who knows both words can infer the literal sense of taking small pieces off. The metaphorical extension (e.g. 'chip away at confidence') transparently maps to gradual reduction and is a common cross-linguistic pattern, making it accessible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The phrasal verb chip away comes from the image of someone hitting a hard surface so small chips break off and fall away bit by bit. That's why it now means 'to remove or reduce something slowly', for example paying off a debt or weakening an idea over time.