whittle away
whittle down
wear away

The thing must be all but whittled away by now.

He had whittled away at her until she'd given him more.

The lower part of the door had been whittled away and broken out.

And well-known forces continue to whittle away at the workers' share.

Here the game is to whittle away at the edges.

The words strengthened him at a time when he felt whittled away to nothing.

They were being whittled away and in a few more moments the host would be upon them.

Little comments, even body language, that'd whittle away at your spirit.

By the late 1980's, the court had whittled away at this crucial protection.

But there is evidence that hard times in the last few years have whittled away at arts classes across the country.