as in to cull
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
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Recent Examples of winnow
The scrappy and broadly rural culture of TikTok in India winnowed down into a more top-down influencer culture on those two platforms.
—
Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 18 Jan. 2025
If the market woes of 2024 continue, expect 2025 to winnow the field of art fairs, auction houses, and galleries.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 2 Jan. 2025
Already, multiple bills have been put forward that address no-fault evictions, and lawmakers will have to winnow them down during the legislative session.
—Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 24 Jan. 2025
Winners were chosen by a panel of 50 top automotive journalists who have driven each entrant extensively, winnowing down the field to nine finalists.
—Ed Garsten, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 18 Jan. 2025
If the market woes of 2024 continue, expect 2025 to winnow the field of art fairs, auction houses, and galleries.
—The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 2 Jan. 2025
Already, multiple bills have been put forward that address no-fault evictions, and lawmakers will have to winnow them down during the legislative session.
—Ginny Monk, Hartford Courant, 24 Jan. 2025
Winners were chosen by a panel of 50 top automotive journalists who have driven each entrant extensively, winnowing down the field to nine finalists.
—Ed Garsten, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnow
Verb
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Infected birds are being culled nationwide, sometimes numbering in the millions at a single location.—
Veronica Bravo,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2025
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The infected ewe was culled, and no other infections of bird flu were detected among any other animals on the farm related directly to the sheep.—
Omer Awan,
Forbes,
25 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The Boston Globe | Getty Images Europe’s Stoxx Healthcare index was 4.4% lower at 10:02 a.m. in London on Wednesday, paring earlier losses but still trading low enough to lead the regional equity sell-off.—
Chloe Taylor,Jenni Reid,Sawdah Bhaimiya,Sophie Kiderlin,
CNBC,
9 Apr. 2025
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Federal government employment showed a decline of 4,000 jobs from February to March after an initiative by the Trump administration to pare the federal workforce.—
Sylvan Lane,
The Hill,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Wiley’s running the numbers on possible price increases for essential construction materials and said tariffs could push up prices for forest products — including lumber, plywood, cabinets, wood doors and trim — by 10% to 15%.—
Brian J. Rogal,
Chicago Tribune,
1 Apr. 2025
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Paint the baseboards, crown molding, or trim around doors and windows.—
Claire Hoppe Norgaard,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The mom of one most notably cut her hair in January 2023, debuting a head-turning, blunt bob.—
Dayna Haffenden,
People.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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According to Variety, the trailer cut exclusively for theater owners opens with Springsteen on a New Jersey car lot test driving a Chevy 305.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Standardization can also reduce due diligence burdens.—
The Sorenson Impact Institute,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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This has, among other losses, reduced Egyptian revenue from the Suez Canal by about eight hundred million dollars a month.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Instead of manually sifting through dense government databases, AI can surface relevant bids, flag compliance risks and even generate near-complete proposal drafts.—
Derek Hoyt,
Forbes,
25 Mar. 2025
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Attorneys are still sifting through pages of discovery.—
Audrey Conklin,
Fox News,
23 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Winnow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnow. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
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