Word of the Day

: August 19, 2021

winnow

verb WIN-oh

What It Means

Winnow can mean "to remove people or things that are less important or desirable" or, generally, "to make a list of possible choices smaller."

//The search committee is finding it extremely difficult to winnow the list of job candidates; many of them are highly qualified.

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winnow in Context

"Cast members apply for the positions. The field is winnowed down through interviews until the final two are selected." — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando (Florida) Sentinel, 30 June 2021

Did You Know?

Beginning as windwian in Old English, winnow first referred to the removal of chaff from grain by a current of air. This use was soon extended to describe the removal of anything undesirable or unwanted (a current example of this sense would be "winnowing out sensitive material"). People then began using the word for the selection of the most desirable elements (as in "winnowing out the qualified applicants"). The association of winnow with the movement of air also led to the meanings "to brandish" and "to beat with or as if with wings," but those uses are now rare. The last meanings blew in around the beginning of the 19th century: they are "to blow on" and "to blow in gusts."