as in culling
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 winnowing
Iowa’s legislative funnel deadline has done its job again, winnowing the list of bills that still could become laws this year.
—
Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register, 20 Mar. 2026
The club is winnowing down its pitching options.
—Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
Is the only pleasure in her winnowing life to be denied?
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
The fewer skiing trails and snow resorts that exist around the world, the more expensive and inaccessible these sports will become, winnowing the potential pool of future Olympians further.
—Laura Millan, Bloomberg, 4 Feb. 2026
All that standing and walking and winnowing down culminated with Tuesday night’s best in show event.
—Poupay Jutharat, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2026
As in baseball, the awards race may be winnowing to the two true outcomes — a world where Best Picture nominees are either a huge Hollywood blockbuster or a foreign-language film from Cannes.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Alegria also sees wild rice production growing using the traditional Indigenous methods of drying, parching, dancing and winnowing at rice camps in northern Wisconsin.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 4 Dec. 2025
The report resulted in the closure of over half the country’s medical schools, winnowing their numbers down from 148 to 66 over two decades.
—Patrick Aguilar, The Conversation, 17 Oct. 2025
Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register, 20 Mar. 2026
The club is winnowing down its pitching options.
—Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
Is the only pleasure in her winnowing life to be denied?
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
The fewer skiing trails and snow resorts that exist around the world, the more expensive and inaccessible these sports will become, winnowing the potential pool of future Olympians further.
—Laura Millan, Bloomberg, 4 Feb. 2026
All that standing and walking and winnowing down culminated with Tuesday night’s best in show event.
—Poupay Jutharat, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2026
As in baseball, the awards race may be winnowing to the two true outcomes — a world where Best Picture nominees are either a huge Hollywood blockbuster or a foreign-language film from Cannes.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Alegria also sees wild rice production growing using the traditional Indigenous methods of drying, parching, dancing and winnowing at rice camps in northern Wisconsin.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 4 Dec. 2025
The report resulted in the closure of over half the country’s medical schools, winnowing their numbers down from 148 to 66 over two decades.
—Patrick Aguilar, The Conversation, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnowing
Verb
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After all, there are 40,000 active podcasts, culling a top ten from that massive list is essentially needle meet haystack.—
Frank Racioppi,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Mandarin Oriental is culling a portfolio of Exceptional Homes, which, while not necessarily linked to hotels, are appointed with amenities expected of the luxury brand.—
Maya Kachroo-Levine,
Travel + Leisure,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Maintaining your yard by mowing, removing leaf litter, and trimming vegetation reduces tick habitats.—
Dan Simms,
USA Today,
4 June 2026
-
Here where to find more information on tree trimming policies.—
CBS Miami Team,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
Verb
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There is also more cutting required of bloomed flowers to initiate another flush, and more cleaning up and cutting secondary branches in spring.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
6 June 2026
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Barr rightly notes that current capital standards were already near the low end of what academic research identifies as optimal; cutting further tips the balance toward fragility, not strength.—
Mayra Rodriguez Valladares,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Verb
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The price tag comes from the California State Auditor’s report that was issued last fall, which found that maintaining similar telework policies could potentially save $225 million annually by reducing the government’s office space footprint.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
6 June 2026
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An April 2026 analysis identified 446 hospitals across 44 states at high risk of closing or reducing services because of Medicaid funding cuts.—
Jesse Pines,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
Verb
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The global oil benchmark Brent Crude futures soared above $98 per barrel early on Thursday after reports of the attacks emerged, before paring gains.—
Siladitya Ray,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
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So far, Starbuck’s turnaround strategy, which also includes adding cozier seating and paring back menu items, appears to be working.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowing. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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