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
The goal was to winnow 40 players down to 22, but also to build a cohesive unit capable of competing.
—
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
In a virtual news conference Tuesday, party Chair Rusty Hicks connected the surveys, which will be released from March 24 through early May, to his push to winnow the field of eight candidates to a smaller field.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 10 Mar. 2026
The club is winnowing down its pitching options.
—Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
And as this stuff shakes out, that 23 will probably winnow and what Dara’s talking about with the multichannel distribution is just messy.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 17 Mar. 2026
In a virtual news conference Tuesday, party Chair Rusty Hicks connected the surveys, which will be released from March 24 through early May, to his push to winnow the field of eight candidates to a smaller field.
—Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 10 Mar. 2026
The club is winnowing down its pitching options.
—Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
And as this stuff shakes out, that 23 will probably winnow and what Dara’s talking about with the multichannel distribution is just messy.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnow
Verb
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When the news broke in newspapers in Zimbabwe that the government was planning to cull 600 elephants, Krog made contact with the conservancy.—
Kamala Thiagarajan,
NPR,
26 Apr. 2026
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The story has been decades in the making as the Colombian government tried multiple nonfatal methods of culling the hippo population, including neutering and relocating.—
Carlie Procell,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The expected tariff refund helped push the company’s stock up 6% in pre-market trading, before paring back gains.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
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Decisions of how Brazzell fits into this receiver room — which has 10 players on its official roster and will likely have to be pared down to five or six by August’s final cuts — are months away.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Brian Kemp signs 34 bills, trimming his backlog with days left to act on this year’s legislation.—
Adam Beam,
AJC.com,
6 May 2026
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Ridestore subjects materials to failure testing during both development and production, evaluating bond strength in laminated membranes, water-repellency performance and trim durability before materials move into manufacturing.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Footwear News,
6 May 2026
Verb
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The shutdown has had a massive impact on the finances of Iranians whose businesses rely on internet access and has also effectively cut the people off from the outside world.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
9 May 2026
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After being cut from the high school team each of his first three years, Sloane piled on some muscle, increased the velocity on his fastball and drew college interest last summer.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
Verb
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In 1994, American teenager Michael Fay was caned at a Singaporean prison for vandalism, a day after his sentence was reduced from six lashes to four in response to an appeal by President Bill Clinton.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
5 May 2026
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In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has—unfairly—been reduced to an excuse to drink tequila and eat guac.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
4 May 2026
Verb
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To begin, lab assistant Julia Butac empties a burlap bag of beans into a bin and starts to sift them a couple handfuls at a time, removing anything that isn't a full bean.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
10 May 2026
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For more severe clumping, pour the spice into a fine-mesh sieve and sift to restore its texture.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnow. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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