to whittle away
1
6.8
- phrasal verb
- /ˈhwɪtəl əˈweɪ/
- Informal
- Many retirees whittle away their days gardening or chatting with friends at the café.
Examples
-
I often whittle away my weekends reading novels.
-
During the long summer break, the children would whittle away their days exploring the backyard and building forts.
-
During the long summer afternoons, she would whittle away the hours reading novels on the porch.
-
He liked to whittle away his free time playing chess in the park.
-
They love to whittle away the afternoon at the lake.
-
On a rainy afternoon, we decided to whittle away the time by playing board games and drinking tea.
-
He often goes to the café just to whittle away a few hours while reading a book.
Synonyms
59
3.7
To relax after a busy or stressful time and slowly come to an end
43
3.4
Become relaxed and less tense after work or a stressful time
22
6.3
Become more relaxed and easygoing
7
4.3
To spend time relaxing and doing very little
2
7.5
To pass time by doing something not useful while you wait
1
4.4
To spend time doing very little and relaxing
1
8.2
To spend time in a relaxed and pleasant way
Antonyms
How Leisurely
- Informal
1
6.3
- Informal
1
6.8
34
2.7
- Informal
2
7.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
whittle + away
The verb 'whittle' literally means to pare or shave small pieces off (usually wood) and 'away' indicates continued/action, so the figurative sense of slowly using up or passing time is a metaphorical extension of 'carving away' time and is partially inferable from the parts. However, the specific sense 'to spend time pleasantly' (similar to 'while away') is idiomatic enough that a B1 learner would not reliably predict it without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrasal verb whittle away also comes from the same picture: people would sit and whittle for hours, slowly cutting away small pieces to pass the time, so it came to mean 'to spend time in a relaxed or idle way'.