winnows

verb

present tense third-person singular of winnow
as in culls
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of winnows From hundreds of original bottles, the panel winnows down the offerings so that only the cream of the crop makes it to the final round of possibilities. — Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 22 Oct. 2026 The primary winnows the field for most federal, state and local offices, with the two candidates who receive the most votes advancing to the general election that decides who wins. — John Woolfolk, Mercury News, 18 May 2026 From that group, the Playwrights Project staff winnows down the number to a list of finalists and those scripts are read and judged by a group of theater professionals. — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnows
  1. culls
  2. trims
  3. cuts
  4. reduces
  5. pares
  6. discards
Verb
  • The fastest-growing area is a cluster of skills involving AI agents, according to Draup, which culls data from public job posts and platforms including LinkedIn.
    — Hugh Son, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The model, which does not source without permission, culls mountains of data about the natural world from partners including the Smithsonian, London’s Natural History Museum and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
    — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of culls
Verb
  • MetLife also covers grief counseling and cremation benefits, trims your deductible for each claim-free year and, in some states, insures exotic pets such as birds, reptiles and rabbits.
    — Matt Richardson, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In polls, Chicagoans have repeatedly said higher taxes should come only after the city trims its own sails.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of trims
Verb
  • Amendment 3 cuts only those taxes, imposing a $150,000 homestead tax exemption in 2027 rising to $250,000 the following year.
    — Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Nov. 2026
  • Planned cuts to the public university system, which represents a near-universal point of pride in the crisis-prone country, sent students into the streets.
    — Nicole Winfield, Chicago Tribune, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of cuts
Verb
  • This reduces the computing work required to serve identical repository data repeatedly.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The iron in lentils can help maintain healthy energy levels by being a component of hemoglobin in red blood cells, which delivers oxygen throughout the body and reduces fatigue.
    — Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of reduces
Verb
  • Her music accordingly pares down the signature elements of a genre in which reckless abandon and defiant self-expression have long been central.
    — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 23 July 2026
  • In its fifth and final season, The Bear pares itself back.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026
Definition of pares
Verb
  • Converting continuous pulsar profiles into simple on/off sequences also discards finer details that could contain useful information.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Because there has to be meaning and lessons and broad conclusions to draw from every outcome, the baseball world picks a reason and explanation, then quietly discards it when next year's team does the opposite.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of discards

Browse Nearby Words

winnowing
winnows
wino
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Cite this Entry

“Winnows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnows. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

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