reduce vs whittle

reduce

verb
  • To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower. 

  • To annul by legal means. 

  • To convert to written form. (Usage note: this verb almost always appears as "reduce to writing".) 

  • To lose weight. 

  • To perform a reduction; to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment. 

  • To bring to an inferior state or condition. 

  • To simplify an equation or formula without changing its value. 

  • To bring to an inferior rank; to degrade, to demote. 

  • To convert a syllogism to a clearer or simpler form. 

  • To add electrons / hydrogen or to remove oxygen. 

  • To humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture. 

  • To strike off the payroll. 

  • To decrease the liquid content of food by boiling much of its water off. 

  • To produce metal from ore by removing nonmetallic elements in a smelter. 

  • To express the solution of a problem in terms of another (known) algorithm. 

  • To reform a line or column from (a square). 

whittle

verb
  • To reduce or gradually eliminate something (such as a debt). 

  • To cut or shape wood with a knife. 

  • To make eager or excited; to excite with liquor; to inebriate. 

noun
  • A knife; especially, a pocket knife, sheath knife, or clasp knife. 

How often have the words reduce and whittle occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )