as in culled
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 winnowed
The leadership of the AI trade has been winnowed down to Alphabet along with memory stocks and the energy/electrification infrastructure suppliers, which are exploiting product scarcity to impose a quasi-tax on the builders.
—
Michael Santoli, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2026
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has winnowed thousands of submissions for its Name a Snowplow contest down to 30 finalists.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
After fermentation and toasting, the beans are winnowed and placed in a melanger, a stone grinder that runs for up to 72 to turn the beans into a velvety, smooth paste.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
Finally, Thoreau winnowed once again, translating some, but not all, of the list items to his charts of general phenomena, and carefully noting the dates on which each phenomenon occurred in the spaces of the grid.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 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
Overnight, this winnowed the field.
—Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Michael Santoli, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2026
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has winnowed thousands of submissions for its Name a Snowplow contest down to 30 finalists.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
After fermentation and toasting, the beans are winnowed and placed in a melanger, a stone grinder that runs for up to 72 to turn the beans into a velvety, smooth paste.
—Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
Finally, Thoreau winnowed once again, translating some, but not all, of the list items to his charts of general phenomena, and carefully noting the dates on which each phenomenon occurred in the spaces of the grid.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 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
Overnight, this winnowed the field.
—Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnowed
Verb
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Some of the imagery seen by Ferreira’s character is genuine content culled from online, carefully trimmed.—
Mark Olsen,
Twin Cities,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Some of the imagery seen by Ferreira’s character is genuine content culled from online, carefully trimmed.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Benintendi's two-run double off Nick Sandlin (0-1) trimmed the Angels' lead to one.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Benintendi’s two-run double off Nick Sandlin (0-1) trimmed the Angels’ lead to one.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
At the same time, Bass has proposed cutting entirely the Animal Services Department’s annual budget for food, which was $200,000 last year, and also slashing the medical supplies budget to $49,000, from $388,000 last year.—
Sandra McDonald,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
-
But now that the post-pandemic boom has well and truly gone bust, just showing up with a great looking timepiece isn’t going to cut it.—
Lily Templeton,
Footwear News,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
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
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The show, said to have been pared down to a brisk hour or so of celebrity walk-ons and sizzle-reel clips, will be held at Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden, which has served as TNT’s upfront stage since 2014.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
But since the war began, traffic has been reduced to a trickle, with just 154 vessels recorded crossing in the entire month of March, according to Kpler data.—
Henrik Pettersson,
CNN Money,
29 Apr. 2026
-
While there is no question that KU Med is at fault for failing to disinfect the heater-cooler devices, Johnson said, LivaNova should have ensured that the hospital was strictly following its instructions for use, which would have reduced the risk of bacteria spreading.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowed. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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