as in to cull
to remove less desirable choices from a group or list
They winnowed the pool of applicants down to a few of the strongest candidates. I tried to winnow out the options that weren't a good value for the price.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of winnow
There's something so deeply satisfying about winnowing a huge capital ship down to its smallest components, finding critical welds and junctures, and melting them apart with your heat laser.
—
Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
These associates would then be winnowed out over time.
—Atta Tarki, Harvard Business Review, 2 Oct. 2025
West Point cancelled an award ceremony for Tom Hanks, after having already winnowed its library of potentially offensive books.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
The museum has closed and the entire Klairmont collection — which in recent years was winnowed down to 284 cars — will be sold by Mecum Auctions.
—Nina Metz, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
These associates would then be winnowed out over time.
—Atta Tarki, Harvard Business Review, 2 Oct. 2025
West Point cancelled an award ceremony for Tom Hanks, after having already winnowed its library of potentially offensive books.
—Louis Menand, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025
The museum has closed and the entire Klairmont collection — which in recent years was winnowed down to 284 cars — will be sold by Mecum Auctions.
—Nina Metz, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnow
Verb
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But the troops won’t be culling the bears – they’re not allowed to under Japanese law.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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All the information that Gemini is drawing upon will be culled from the roughly 250 million places stored in Google Maps’ database of reviews accumulated during the past 20 years.—
Michael Liedtke,
Fortune,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Renk and Leonardo initially led the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, moving more than 4% higher, but pared gains through the session.—
Tasmin Lockwood,
CNBC,
8 Jan. 2026
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Trump’s edict was light on details — and the shares pared those losses in later trading — but the message was sent.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Fears aired an alley-oop dunk to forward Carson Cooper on the next play, the first score of the second half, to trim Arkansas’ lead to 39-38.—
Matt Byrne,
Arkansas Online,
9 Nov. 2025
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The key is to fold the scarf over itself to create volume and to look for a lace trim that leaves the hem frayed, so as not to look too formal.—
Arancha Gamo,
Glamour,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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An emergency order by the FAA on Thursday said airlines have to cut traffic by 4%, resulting in about 800 flight cancellations for Friday that increased to over 1,000 throughout the day, according to FlightAware.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
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Southwest Airlines cut about 120 flights Friday.—
JOSH FUNK,
Arkansas Online,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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During his January 2025 State of the State address, Little called for tax cuts that could reduce the state’s general fund by about $100 million.—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
9 Jan. 2026
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To reduce sizes, builders are going back to open floor plans with fewer hallways.—
Lew Sichelman,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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When it's turned on, the function will sift through inboxes and suggest to-do lists and topics that users might want to explore.—
Julia Doyle,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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Errant crumbs can sift through the basket, resulting in burning and more mess.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnow. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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