Wordnet 3.0
VERB (1)
1. 
 engrave or cut by chipping away at a surface; 
- Example: "carve one's name into the bark"[syn: carve, chip at]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
chip at
    v 1: engrave or cut by chipping away at a surface; "carve one's
         name into the bark" [syn: carve, chip at]