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
-
The Legislature did start culling license plates, eliminating those that didn’t sell well.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
16 Apr. 2026
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The Lake County Forest Preserves proposed culling deer to balance nature, and there was some controversy.—
Sheryl De Vore,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Oracle Park roared to life in the bottom of the fifth as San Francisco’s offense finally got to Alcantara, trimming the deficit to 8-3 as Drew Gilbert, Eric Haase and Luis Arraez all drove in a run apiece.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Across TikTok, Instagram and group chats, young people are constantly editing themselves, trimming anything that might come off as try-hard, awkward or embarrassing.—
Rachel Hale,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Vesia surrendered a two-run triple to Swanson and an RBI single to Nico Hoerner, cutting the Dodgers’ lead to one.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Part of that includes 'cutting the pond' using machinery to dig through the sand and allow water to flow in and out.—
Jacob Wycoff,
CBS News,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
MacRumors thinks this could end up reducing the thickness of the iPhone’s display stack while improving brightness and minimizing power use.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
25 Apr. 2026
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The Airhart ethos is focused on reducing the cognitive drain on the pilot.—
David Szondy
April 25,
New Atlas,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The opposite approach—paring things down to the bare minimum—often comes at the cost of comfort and routine.—
Susmita Baral,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The designer notes that the process of paring things back was a welcome challenge.—
Shelby Wax,
Vogue,
12 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowing. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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