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Definitions

winnow

[win-oh] / ˈwɪn oʊ /
VERB
subject to some process of separating or distinguishing
Synonyms


VERB
blow away
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

As the job market cools, they are both raising the bar for entry-level jobs and seeking more consistent criteria to winnow the candidate pool.

From The Wall Street Journal May 13, 2026

If she does enter the contest, the move is expected to winnow the field because of her national profile, fundraising ability and her multiple successful statewide campaigns.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 2, 2025

The point of the process is to winnow the field to a manageable size, and winnowed the field was.

From Slate Jan. 20, 2024

To winnow them down, the Templeton World Charity Foundation has begun supporting large-scale studies that put different pairs of theories in a head-to-head test, in a process called adversarial collaboration.

From New York Times Jul. 1, 2023

How was she to winnow down her countless questions to a mere troika?

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Then the RNA winnows the contending olfactory-receptor genes down to one.

From Science Daily Dec. 21, 2023

And while his company’s software winnows candidates, Mr. Garg emphasizes that it is meant to be a helper.

From New York Times Mar. 13, 2023

It progressively winnows out starlight, and stacks frame after frame to allow any faint planetary light to accumulate and eventually be seen.

From Scientific American Feb. 10, 2021

Evolution is blind and evolutionary progress is a misnomer; natural selection carves and winnows according to the ever-changing status quo.

From Salon Mar. 17, 2019

It winnows through the stones as we watch, bubbling into the undeserving earth.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

What’s the point of watching a game that can be winnowed down to a series of inputs and outputs?

From Salon Apr. 13, 2026

A winnowed cattle supply has driven up prices.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 11, 2025

Per the Hollywood Reporter, Merit’s measly weekly viewer numbers soon winnowed down further, to 17,000.

From Slate Oct. 14, 2025

The field of candidates would be winnowed down by a committee before being added to ballots.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 9, 2024

His teeth were winnowed away by a vexatious Grisha, and now he can eat only pudding.”

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Ten stocks survived this winnowing process, and they are listed in ascending order of their volatility.

From MarketWatch Jun. 6, 2026

The winnowing of victims has been the result of byzantine legal procedures, strict vetting and tightened eligibility rules, which victims told ProPublica and the Inquirer took them by surprise.

From Salon Apr. 24, 2026

Ask DePetro why someone might prefer his content to the nightly news, and he’ll gesture toward the rapidly winnowing media industry.

From Slate Feb. 23, 2026

The winnowing has hit especially hard in Delaware, DuPont’s home base.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 8, 2026

When the husks were loosened, Nhamo poured the grain into a winnowing basket.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer




Vocabulary lists containing winnow


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