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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Recent Examples of winnows
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.
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Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnows
Verb
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Fundrise culls its data from both public records and private databases.—
Diana Olick,
CNBC,
27 Jan. 2026
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The creative documentary filmmaker, a former Berkeley resident, culls together photos, home movies, songs and more to relate writer Andri Snær Magnason’s grieving process over the loss of relatives and a once-majestic glacier that is no more due to climate change.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Trusting the reader trims needless words.—
Jasna Hodžić,
Big Think,
10 Mar. 2026
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As the United Nations inevitably trims its support for sustainable development, Asia is going to have to find a replacement source of capital.—
Naina Subberwal Batra,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Recycling sports equipment not only keeps it out of landfills, but reduces the need for new equipment to be manufactured, Clarkin said.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2026
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Being up to date on taxes reduces the amount of penalties and interest that builds from waiting.—
Michael Butler,
Miami Herald,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Marvel Avengers Expansion Impressions The biggest strength of the Marvel Multiverse Role Playing Game expansions continues to be succinct writing that pares down decades of comic book history into a short but informative chapter.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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This is a sweet, redemptive film that pares back some of the more extreme dramatic elements of Perry’s earlier work to tell a straightforward, second-chance-at-love story.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The footage inside the silicone throat was shot weeks prior; when the camera cuts to Howard, production used scopes of different lengths to indicate how far the tube may have gone down his throat.—
Marah Eakin,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
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Usually when the economy is unsteady and the job market is weakening, the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to give things a boost.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Try the Storm Chaser, which sends you into a zero-gravity fall, catches you in a funnel, then discards you into a pool below.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Feb. 2026
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At the same time, Gans discards the psychological and spatial logic that gave meaning to the original telling’s dream-like sense of disorientation.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnows.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnows. Accessed 16 Mar. 2026.
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