to chip away at
18
4.6
- phrasal verb
:
minar
- I have been putting up with this reckless abandon for months on end, and it is chipping away at my soul.
And these people will continue to chip away at your confidence, to chip away at the human that you are.
- And these people will continue to chip away at your confidence, to chip away at the human that you are.
- It has taken me, you know, a lot of years just to start chipping away at that.
- And so now mathematicians can start chipping away at, you know, like, how small can these counterexamples be?
- 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.
- 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.
- Last week, another indictment relating to the Steele dossier came down, further chipping away at this whole collusion narrative, which was a lie.
- Combine that with the notion of the culture sort of chipping away at people and whether it's.
- I I have chipped away at it.
- And over time, this can chip away at your sense of self worth and self respect.
Examples
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It's ironic because in reality, what Darwin did was to chip away at the sacred concept of the species.
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And over time, this can chip away at your sense of self worth and self respect.
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And if you do that and you chip away at it, eventually everything works out.
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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 these people will continue to chip away at your confidence, to chip away at the human that you are.
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And so if you start to chip away at that problem, you can change the dynamic.
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Injustice like that can really, really chip away at you.
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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) -
Little criticisms can slowly chip away at your confidence over time.
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
24
4.2
To make something smaller or weaker by removing small parts slowly
10
5.1
To make a list or group smaller by removing items over time
7
6.1
To make someone feel worried or less confident for a long time
3
3.2
Break a small piece from something by hitting or pressing it
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
9.9
To make people or forces fewer and weaker by slow, steady pressure
1
3.9
To remove small pieces from a surface by cutting or hitting it
To wear a surface down by rubbing
Antonyms
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally maps onto the image of chipping small pieces away until something is reduced or removed, so a learner who knows 'chip' (break off small pieces) and 'away' (removed) can infer the core idea of gradual reduction. However, its frequent metaphorical extension to abstract targets (e.g., 'chip away at my patience') requires mapping from physical to abstract domains, so the sense is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
The phrasal verb chip away at comes from the image of someone using a tool to chip small pieces away from a rock or a piece of wood. So, like those tiny chips slowly changing the stone, the phrase means to 'gradually reduce or weaken' something by repeated small actions.