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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Recent Examples of winnow
During his first five-year contract, Bennett, his staff and the board winnowed down the company’s budget to better match annual expenses and ticket sales, while also creating the Detour series of smaller, nontraditional opera works to expand the company’s audience.
—
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Despite industry-wide budget cuts and a shortage of doc distributors for nonfiction social issue fare, Powers winnowed the list of 23 docs from over 1,000 submissions.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
Zapata was selected from a list of 5 finalists, winnowed down from 166 applicants.
—Literary Hub, 22 July 2025
The race is bound to tighten somewhat after the September preliminary election, when the field will be winnowed to just Kraft and Wu.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Despite industry-wide budget cuts and a shortage of doc distributors for nonfiction social issue fare, Powers winnowed the list of 23 docs from over 1,000 submissions.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
Zapata was selected from a list of 5 finalists, winnowed down from 166 applicants.
—Literary Hub, 22 July 2025
The race is bound to tighten somewhat after the September preliminary election, when the field will be winnowed to just Kraft and Wu.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnow
Verb
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The trawling nets of commercial fisherman greedily cull all of the sea life in their path.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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His staff, culled from a hodgepodge of local law-enforcement groups, is green.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Once its largest shareholder with a 40% stake, Lefkofsky stepped down from an active leadership role at Groupon in 2015 and has since pared his holdings to just under 10%.—
Robert Channick,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
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Dress it up with a pair of tights, a skirt, and some ballet flats, or pare it down with your favorite jeans, a tote bag, and some comfy sneakers.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Undeterred, Rodgers connected on a five-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Warren to trim the deficit to 26-24.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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For his efforts, which also included spending more than $7,000 to trim trees and cut down two redwoods and a fir, he was rewarded with a certificate from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety that persuaded his insurer to maintain his coverage.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Initially lined up outside, Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones quickly cut inside to beat the right tackle.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
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On the northeast of the fire, by Sugar Pine Mountain, crews worked in steep, inaccessible terrain to bring containment lines into the natural rock bluff, trying to cut the fire off south of the Wishon Reservoir for the protection of the critical hydroelectric infrastructure.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Made with prebiotic oat to soothe irritation and support the skin barrier, the gentle cream also has feverfew extract, which is packed with antioxidants that reduce redness and further calm irritation.—
Jenny Berg,
Vogue,
4 Sep. 2025
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Funding used in high school for more than 29 credit hours will reduce scholarship eligibility after high school by one year, and more than 59 credit hours will reduce eligibility by two years.—
Edward McKinnon,
Arkansas Online,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Interview transcripts, customer feedback, survey responses—what used to take hours or days to sift through can now be summarized and tagged in minutes.—
Catherine Iger,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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This is your moment to sift through the noise and find the lightning bolt of truth.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Winnow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnow. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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