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
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
There's something so deeply satisfying about winnowing a huge capital ship down to its smallest components, finding critical welds and junctures, and melting them apart with your heat laser.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Trump has expressed an interest in winnowing the field of candidates so that one person can take Mamdani head-on.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 5 Sep. 2025
And his anxieties seem propelled by a fear of winnowing potential, the feeling that he might be left behind.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2025
For every couple like Slover and Featherstone, there are those who came to the destination slightly less pointedly—yet, after winnowing their choices down, Japan took the cake.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2023
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
There's something so deeply satisfying about winnowing a huge capital ship down to its smallest components, finding critical welds and junctures, and melting them apart with your heat laser.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Trump has expressed an interest in winnowing the field of candidates so that one person can take Mamdani head-on.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 5 Sep. 2025
And his anxieties seem propelled by a fear of winnowing potential, the feeling that he might be left behind.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2025
For every couple like Slover and Featherstone, there are those who came to the destination slightly less pointedly—yet, after winnowing their choices down, Japan took the cake.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnowing
Verb
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Some companies have already leaned into culling headcount to grow profits, including enterprise-software firm IgniteTech.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
20 Jan. 2026
-
Florida’s way of culling the program reduces the income eligibility.—
Lawrence Mower,
Miami Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Rather than trimming the beans individually, do it in batches.—
Riley Wofford,
Martha Stewart,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Often the hedge is full enough with healthy limbs to grow shoots that fill voids left from trimming.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
On one sequence Harding made a perfect bounce pass to a cutting Edmonds, who dunked over a West Virginia defender.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Feb. 2026
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Go easy on the buffing Some people also like to buff their nails after cutting, and a light buff can promote healthy growth and increase shine.—
Andee Tagle,
NPR,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Once in place, this will allow staff to care for guests’ most delicate garments while reducing harmful emissions.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Feb. 2026
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The weapon can also fly more than 45 miles to strike mobile targets, reducing the amount of time that aircrews spend in harm’s way.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Gold and silver prices rose after paring bigger, early gains.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Wall Street’s fear gauge, the VIX, was up 10%, paring gains after soaring as much as 25%.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowing. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.
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