Translations for whittle away at in the English»Spanish Dictionary (Go to Spanish»English)

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Translations for whittle away at in the Spanish»English Dictionary (Go to English»Spanish)

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picar (labrar, astillar)

to chip away at

roer

Translations for whittle away at in the English»Spanish Dictionary

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I.whittle [Am ˈ(h)wɪdl, Brit ˈwɪt(ə)l] VB trans

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whittle wood/stick:

I whittled the ends down to a point

les saqué punta a los extremos (con una navaja, un cuchillo etc)

II.whittle [Am ˈ(h)wɪdl, Brit ˈwɪt(ə)l] VB intr

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I.away [Am əˈweɪ, Brit əˈweɪ] ADV away often appears as the second element of certain verb structures in English (back away, do away with, slip away, etc.). For translations, see the relevant verb entry (back, do, slip, etc.).

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1.2. away (indicating removal):

the bark had been stripped away

habían quitado la corteza

2.3. away SPORTS esp Brit :

to play away

jugar fuera (de casa)

3. away (on one's way):

we were away before sunrise

partimos or salimos antes del amanecer

a couple of drinks and she's away inf

se toma un par de copas y se desata

you only have to mention golf and he's away inf

apenas le mencionas el golf y no hay quien lo pare

4.1. away with imperative:

I've got some questions to ask you — OK, ask away!

tengo algunas preguntas que hacerle —¡dígame!

I've got some questions to ask you — OK, ask away!

tengo algunas preguntas que hacerle —¡pregunte nomás! LatAm

4.2. away (continuously):

he's been painting away all morning

se ha pasado toda la mañana pintando

I could hear him singing away in the bath

lo oía cantar en el baño

5.1. away (into nothing):

the ghostly figure melted away into the darkness

la figura fantasmal se desvaneció en la oscuridad

5.2. away (indicating use of time):

you're dreaming your life away

se te está yendo la vida en sueños

they danced the night away

bailaron toda la noche

6.1. away (in opposite direction to):

to face away from the light

ponerse de espaldas a la luz

the hotel faces away from the sea

el hotel da hacia el lado opuesto al mar

she pulled the child away from the cliff edge

apartó al niño del borde del acantilado

6.2. away (at a distance, separated from):

away

away from his family

lejos de su familia

stand well away from the fire

no te acerques al fuego

the ideal place if you want to be/get away from it all

el lugar ideal si te quieres alejar del mundanal ruido

II.away [Am əˈweɪ, Brit əˈweɪ] ADJ attr

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away game or Brit also match

partido m que se juega fuera (de casa)

See also wipe away, waste away, wash away, take away, fire away, fade away, die away, blow away

wipe away VB [Am waɪp -, Brit wʌɪp -] (v + o + adv, v + adv + o) (remove)

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waste away VB [Am weɪst -, Brit weɪst -] (v + adv)

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waste away person/body:

waste away muscle:

wash away VB [Am wɑʃ, wɔʃ -, Brit wɒʃ -] (v + o + adv, v + adv + o)

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1. wash away (carry away):

wash away hut/bridge/pier

wash away hut/bridge/pier

2. wash away (cleanse):

wash away dirt/stains

quitar (lavando)

wash away sins

I.take away VB [Am teɪk -, Brit teɪk -] (v + o + adv, v + adv + o)

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2. take away (lead off):

take away person

3. take away (remove, confiscate):

take away possession

take away possession

sacar CSur

to take away sb's hopes

quitarle las esperanzas a alguien

to take sth away from sb

quitarle algo a alguien

to take sth away from sb

sacarle algo a alguien CSur

he took the ball away from the children

les quitó la pelota a los niños

her children were taken away from her

le quitaron a los niños

they took their children away from the school

sacaron a los niños del colegio

4. take away (erase, obliterate):

this will take the pain/taste away

con esto se te pasará or se te quitará el dolor/gusto

nothing can take away my memories of that trip

nada me puede quitar el recuerdo de aquel viaje

5. take away MATH:

34 take away 13 equals 21

34 menos 13 es igual a 21

if you take away 13 from 34 …

si a 34 le restas 13 …

II.take away VB [Am teɪk -, Brit teɪk -] (v + o + adv)

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take it away! inf

III.take away VB [Am teɪk -, Brit teɪk -] (v + adv + o) Brit

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fire away VB [Am ˈfaɪ(ə)r -, Brit ˈfʌɪə -] (v + adv) inf usu in imperative

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fade away VB [Am feɪd -, Brit feɪd -] (v + adv)

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die away VB [Am daɪ -, Brit dʌɪ -] (v + adv)

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blow away VB [Am bloʊ -, Brit bləʊ -] sl (v + o + adv)

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1. blow away (kill):

one more word and I'll blow you away!

una palabra más y te liquido or te vuelo la tapa de los sesos inf

2. blow away (have strong effect on) Am:

that kind of music just blows me away

ese tipo de música me enloquece inf

that kind of music just blows me away

es que flipo con ese tipo de música Spain inf

the tragedy blew me away

la tragedia me dejó anonadado

at [Am æt, ət, Brit at, ət] PREP

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1. at (indicating location, position):

she was waiting at the door/restaurant

estaba esperando en la puerta/el restaurante

at Daniel's

en casa de Daniel

at Daniel's

at Daniel's

en lo de Daniel RioPl

I stayed at a hotel

me quedé en un hotel

we were at church

estábamos en la iglesia

to be at the table or form at table

estar sentados a la mesa

don't call me at the office

no me llames a la oficina

at the back or rear of the house

al fondo de la casa

who was at the wedding?

¿quién estuvo en la boda?

2. at (in email addresses):

3. at (indicating direction):

to point at sth/sb

señalar algo/a alguien

she aimed the gun at him

le apuntó con la pistola

look out, someone's shooting at us!

¡cuidado, nos están disparando!

they were throwing stones at him

le estaban tirando piedras

he smiled at me/her

she was screaming at me to come back

me estaba gritando que volviera

he banged at the door with his fists

aporreó la puerta con los puños

4. at (indicating time):

at 6 o'clock

you can't call at this time!

¡no puedes llamar a esta hora or a estas horas!

at noon/nightfall

a mediodía/al anochecer

at Christmas

at Christmas

por Navidades Spain

at this stage in the game

a esta altura del partido

at that very moment

en ese mismo momento

at a later date

at a later date

en fecha posterior form

at the last count

en el último recuento

where did you go at lunchtime?

¿dónde fuiste a la hora de comer?

at your age

he left home at the age of 20

se fue de casa a los 20 años

5.2. at (occupied with):

people at work

gente trabajando

children at play

she's at dinner

what are you at?

what are you at?

¿en qué andas? inf

to be at it inf she's been hard at it studying all morning

ha estado toda la mañana dale que dale estudiando inf

to be at it inf she's been hard at it studying all morning

ha estado toda la mañana dale que te pego estudiando Spain inf

the neighbors are hard at it again!

¡ya están otra vez los vecinos dale que dale!

the neighbors are hard at it again!

¡ya están otra vez los vecinos dale que te pego! Spain

the children are at it again!

¡los niños han vuelto a empezar!

while you're at it you can wipe the table

ya que estás (en ello) pásale un trapo a la mesa

to be at sth I know she's been at my things

sé que ha estado hurgando en mis cosas

Joe's been at the brandy again

Joe le ha vuelto a dar al brandy inf

to be (on) at sb

darle la lata a alguien inf

his wife's been on at him to stop smoking

su mujer le ha estado dando la lata para que deje de fumar

6.1. at (with measurements, numbers, rates etc):

I'd put the crowd at 2, 000

yo diría que habría unas 2.000 personas

they sell them at around $80/at half price

las venden a alrededor de $80/a mitad de precio

three at a time

de tres en tres

we sold it at a higher price

lo vendimos más caro

at 80 mph/100 degrees

a 80 mph/100 grados

to do something at a run

hacer algo corriendo

at high temperatures

a altas temperaturas

at a depth of 200m

a una profundidad de 200m

6.2. at (with superlative):

at worst I'll have to give up my job

lo peor que puede pasar es que tenga que dejar el trabajo

at the soonest

como muy pronto

at the latest

he was at his most amusing

estuvo más divertido que nunca or de lo más divertido

bureaucracy at its most exasperating

la burocracia en su forma más exasperante

French cooking at its best

lo mejor de la cocina francesa

abstract art at its best

el arte abstracto en su expresión más depurada

7. at (because of):

he was surprised at the decision

le sorprendió la decisión

she smiled at their antics

sus travesuras le hicieron gracia

no one laughed at the joke

nadie se rió con el chiste

don't laugh at me!

¡no te rías de mí!

they cried at the news

lloraron al enterarse de la noticia

they fled at the sound of footsteps

huyeron al oír pasos

I faint at the sight of blood

me desmayo al ver sangre or cuando veo sangre

at sb's request

a petición de alguien

at sb's request

a pedido de alguien LatAm

I did it at his insistence

lo hice porque él insistió

his spirits rose at the thought of …

se le levantaba el ánimo al pensar …

8. at (concerning):

she's good at her job

hace bien su trabajo

she's hopeless at anything practical

es absolutamente negada para las cosas prácticas

she's poor at French/Physics

no es muy buena en francés/física

he's terrible at making speeches

es un pésimo orador

I'm bad at organizing things

no sirvo para organizar cosas

he's upset someone else now — yes, he's good at that

ha vuelto a disgustar a alguien — sí, se especializa en eso

he's upset someone else now — yes, he's good at that

ha vuelto a disgustar a alguien — sí, para eso es mandado a hacer CSur

Translations for whittle away at in the English»Spanish Dictionary

whittle away at VB trans

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1. whittle away at (take little bits off):

whittle away at

cortar pedazos de

2. whittle away at fig (decrease):

whittle away at

reducir poco a poco

Translations for whittle away at in the English»Spanish Dictionary (Go to Spanish»English)

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Translations for whittle away at in the Spanish»English Dictionary (Go to English»Spanish)

rascar la guitarra

to bash away at the guitar

Translations for whittle away at in the English»Spanish Dictionary

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whittle [ˈwɪtl, Am ˈwɪt̬-] VB trans -ling

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away [əˈweɪ] ADV

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2. away (absent):

away

to be away on holiday

estar de vacaciones

3. away (in future time):

to be only a week away

no faltar más que una semana

right away!

4. away (continuously):

to write away

escribir sin cesar

at¹ [ət] PREP

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2. at (time):

all at once

en este momento

at the time

at the same time

al mismo tiempo

at three o'clock

while I am at it

mientras lo estoy haciendo

6. at (in state of):

at best/worst

en el mejor/peor de los casos

at war/peace

a los 20 (años)

I feel at ease

me siento tranquilo

to be at a loss

estar sin saber qué hacer

to be at lunch

estar en el almuerzo

a child at play

un niño jugando

at² [ɑ:t, æt] (in email address)

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American English

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

English

It explores how environments whittle away at the soul and morals of the underserved. www.washingtonpost.com

He delicately uses the chainsaw, feathering it against the trunk to whittle away at the piece. www.theobserver.ca

On the surface, it might not seem like a big deal to see the city whittle away at its rainy-day fund. www.winnipegfreepress.com

Just stand in a control point to take control of it and whittle away at your opposition. business.financialpost.com

The songwriting process is sort of like automatic writing for us; make up some gibberish to go with a tune and then whittle away at it until meaning emerges. www.digitaljournal.com

District officials were able to whittle away at that list over the summer, as others retired or quit, and financial projections at some schools changed. sfpublicpress.org

Either a death by a thousand cuts, where you whittle away at their funding, or their support, even their office space. abcnews.go.com

Our brains learn to whittle away at life's rough edges until we become who we are as adults. www.theverge.com

Through deductive reasoning and the evidence provided, the pair must whittle away at the culprit's defenses until they confess. www.kotaku.com.au

It can be a daunting task to whittle away at pages of unread e-mails, she says, a chore that can leave you wishing you hadn't come back to the office. www.theglobeandmail.com

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