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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Mamdani’s Executive Budget rightly addresses some of this excess, trimming DOC’s uniformed headcount by 586 positions, and putting the city on track to save $78 million next year.—
Jason Rodriguez,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2026
-
The conglomerate also fully exited Amazon after trimming the position late last year.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Verb
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The Tempo didn’t make things easy, cutting the deficit to two points late and later trailing by just three with 31 seconds remaining and possession of the ball.—
Marisa Ingemi,
Los Angeles Times,
16 May 2026
-
The bridge demonstrates a new, lighter approach to low-carbon infrastructure, cutting waste and CO₂ by depositing concrete only where needed.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Eco effort The Pig group’s 25-mile menu keeps suppliers local, reducing food miles and packaging in the process.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
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Its document generation tools guide founders through complex legal processes step by step, reducing errors and ensuring completeness.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
Verb
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Much of the savings would come from paring back health care coverage for immigrants, both with and without legal status.—
Ethan Varian,
Mercury News,
14 May 2026
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Siemens shares closed higher, paring losses earlier in the trading session.—
Elsa Ohlen,Joseph Wilkins,Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowing. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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