chip (away) at (something)
chip (away) at (something)
1. Literally, to break off fragments of something. We won't be able to move this huge rock until we chip at it and make it smaller.
2. By extension, to complete small, incremental portions of a task. I knew I wouldn't be able to write 50 pages in one night, so I've been chipping away at this paper for a few weeks.
See also: chip
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
chip (away) at something
to break off tiny pieces of something little by little. The mason chipped away at the bricks. He chipped at the block of marble gently.
See also: chip
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
- chip at
- chip away
- chip up
- break (something) to pieces
- break to pieces
- literally
- drift with
- drift with (something)
- (the) survival of the fittest
- dash to pieces