whittling
verb
Definitions
To cut or shape wood with a knife.
To reduce or gradually eliminate something (such as a debt).
To make eager or excited; to excite with liquor; to inebriate.
noun
Definitions
(usually in the plural) A chip or shaving whittled from some larger substance.
The art of carving shapes out of raw wood using a knife
A process of repeatedly shaving slivers from a piece of wood (non-artistic)