whittle down vs damage

whittle down is not a noun while damage is a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
whittle down	No	No	Yes	No
damage	Yes	No	Yes	No

As verbs, damage is a hypernym of whittle down; that is, damage is a word with a broader meaning than whittle down:

whittle down (noun)	damage (noun)
	the act of damaging something or someone
	any harm or injury resulting from a violation of a legal right
	the occurrence of a change for the worse
	loss of military equipment
	the amount of money needed to purchase something

whittle down (verb)	damage (verb)
cut away in small pieces	inflict damage upon
	suffer or be susceptible to damage