Chip away at can describe slow progress or slow harm at work: a team can reduce a backlog, while rising costs can reduce a margin. The same grammar serves both meanings. These ten examples also show tense, tone, and a common mix-up.
Quick check
Recurring drag or instant loss?
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Learn "Chip Away" in depth →Positive progress
"We've been chipping away at the open tickets since Monday, and we're finally under a hundred."
"It's not glamorous work, but if the team keeps chipping away, the technical debt will be manageable by Q3."
The second example leaves out the object: keeps chipping away. This sounds natural when the target is already clear; the focus is on steady effort, not the task itself.
Negative erosion
"Every support escalation we don't automate chips away at margin a little more."
"Two more missed deadlines like that will chip away at the client's confidence in us."
The grammar works the same way here, yet the phrase now describes slow harm to something of value. The object and context show whether the change is good or bad.
Stakeholder resistance -- a strategic use of "progress"
"A few small proof points chipped away at the board's resistance to the pilot."
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Aspect: naming an ongoing trend
"We've been chipping away at the risk register for months, and it shows."
Finance and executive register
"Rising support costs are chipping away at the savings we booked last quarter."
The boundary with "chip in"
"It's chip away at, not chip in -- nobody's contributing money here, just steadily reducing the backlog."
Calibrating severity
"It's chipping away at capacity, not collapsing it -- we still have room this sprint."
This wording names a real trend but does not make it sound worse than it is.
Market position
"Two competitors undercutting us on price are chipping away at our market share in the mid-market segment."
One lost deal may not show much on its own. The phrase points to the wider trend across many deals.
Practice scenarios
Practice using chip away at in situations like:
- reporting cumulative progress on a backlog or technical debt without overclaiming speed
- flagging a slow erosion of margin, trust, or market share before it becomes urgent
- calibrating severity so the phrase doesn't understate or overstate what's actually happening
Useful practice phrases:
- "[Team] has been chipping away at [backlog/debt], down [amount] so far."
- "[Recurring issue] is chipping away at [margin/trust/capacity]."
- "It's chipping away at [X], not collapsing it."
Want to actually use "Chip Away" naturally at work?
Understanding it is one thing. Practice its nuances, see how it works in real workplace situations, and use it yourself with feedback.
Start the "Chip Away" learning path →Ten sentences show two directions and one fixed preposition. Use "chip away at" when you name the target.
Once you can read the context, the phrase gives you a clear way to describe change that builds over time.