How to Use winnow in a Sentence

winnow

verb

• Harvesters winnowed the chaff from the wheat.
• The least qualified applicants were winnowed out of the initial pool.
• The straw has to be gathered, the seeds winnowed, the fields burned, the soil turned, and there are only so many hours in the day.
  — Aryn Baker, Time, 12 Sep. 2019
• The playoff field for the 2023 NFL season has been winnowed from eight teams to four.
  — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024
• By the time the 2016 field winnowed down, Trump had the nomination sewn up.
  — David Jackson, USA TODAY, 1 June 2023
• On Monday, the party will hold two rounds of voting to winnow the field to one or two.
  — Mark Landler, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2022
• The goal was to winnow down the story, to get to the basics but bring a human element to it.
  — Connie Nelson, Star Tribune, 26 Oct. 2020
• Those new rules could also serve to winnow the field of AI models in China.
  — Paolo Confino, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2023
• Scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 23, the debate could help winnow the crowded field for the first time this year.
  — Time, 18 Aug. 2023
• The fight is finally starting to winnow to one against Trump.
  — TIME, 16 Jan. 2024
• In the process of development and even post, [we] just winnow it down to the essentials.
  — Sydney Odman, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Mar. 2023
• At the end of the process, the commission will interview some of the top contenders, before winnowing the list to three.
  — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024
• The original group of 30 Broward and Palm Beach county football teams in the playoffs has been winnowed down to 18.
  — Adam Lichtenstein, sun-sentinel.com, 13 Nov. 2019
• Bilao is the word for a flat, woven basket used in the provinces for winnowing rice.
  — Amanda Albee, Dallas News, 6 Mar. 2020
• On Sunday — with judging in three more groups — the field will winnow to the final seven dogs who will compete for Best in Show.
  — New York Times, 13 June 2021
• The White House sees the new requirements as a potent tool to winnow down the ranks of the tens of millions of Americans who have thus far refused to get a shot.
  — David Koenig, chicagotribune.com, 4 Nov. 2021
• The search will cast a wide net and winnow the applicants down in a one-day, virtual pitch challenge hosted by John.
  — Mckenna Moore, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2020
• And even once people make it through the gate, processing delays sharply winnow the numbers of people cleared to board planes.
  — Marcus Yam, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2021
• The White House sees it as a potent tool to winnow down the ranks of roughly 65 million Americans who have thus far refused to get a shot.
  — Zeke Miller and David Koenig, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2021
• Tasked with winnowing the field down to 17 semifinalists, the judges filled out score sheets for each part of the competition.
  — Madison Malone Kircher Bridget Bennett, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2024
• But winnowing the field also has the effect of narrowing the debate.
  — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2019
• Democrats have struggled to win support for that plan from some members of their party, who want to winnow down its $3.5 trillion price tag.
  — From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 21 Oct. 2021
• Our department heads know the parameters and winnow the requests to needs, not wants.
  — Nick Sortal, sun-sentinel.com, 14 Oct. 2021
• Just five candidates took the stage after some dropped out and campaign requirements winnowed down the field.
  — Rachel Cohrs and Sarah Owermohle, STAT, 8 Nov. 2023
• Mendes is the likely victor for Best Director, and the battle for Best Picture is now winnowed down to their two uniquely thrilling pieces of work.
  — Stacey Wilson Hunt, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2020
• The primary will winnow the field of candidates and set November match-ups.
  — Todd Richmond, Star Tribune, 10 Aug. 2020
• The pack chasing Trump has roughly six months of debates, town halls and fundraising pitches ahead before voters start to winnow the field.
  — David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2023
• The list of devices was so large that investigators asked Google to winnow it down to devices that had been at two or more of the locations.
  — Jon Schuppe, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2023
• In the past, authorities have set up roadblocks deeper in the country to winnow down larger groups.
  — Star Tribune, 1 Oct. 2020
• The showcase in the heart of the Deep South could prove decisive for some candidates, as the party looks to winnow the roster of those seeking the nomination.
  — Jennifer Jacobs, al, 31 Aug. 2023

Last Updated: 5 Sep 2024