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 museum has closed and the entire Klairmont collection — which in recent years was winnowed down to 284 cars — will be sold by Mecum Auctions.
—
Nina Metz, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
Overnight, this winnowed the field.
—Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Trump has expressed an interest in winnowing the field of candidates so that one person can take Mamdani head-on.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 5 Sep. 2025
And his anxieties seem propelled by a fear of winnowing potential, the feeling that he might be left behind.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Nina Metz, Boston Herald, 17 Sep. 2025
Overnight, this winnowed the field.
—Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Trump has expressed an interest in winnowing the field of candidates so that one person can take Mamdani head-on.
—Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 5 Sep. 2025
And his anxieties seem propelled by a fear of winnowing potential, the feeling that he might be left behind.
—Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnow
Verb
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Privates and noncommissioned officers were culled from stateside divisions, trained as riflemen, and sent overseas.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
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On Wednesday, the Jets practiced on what appeared to be a makeshift field culled together for the Browns last week, surrounded by trees and not much else.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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So getting to pare it down and get to the essence of all the 20 incredible songs that were there also had a powerful effect on the show.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Oct. 2025
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Spot silver surpassed the $50 mark for the first time last week before paring gains.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Royal Navy crew achieved the major milestone as part of HMS Agamemnon’s ‘trim dive’, a three-day period of testing in the town’s Devonshire Dock to prove the attack vessel’s stability and safety.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Oct. 2025
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Brockman electrocuted while trimming trees On the day he was electrocuted, Brockman and his work crew were removing limbs that were close to Evergy power lines, the lawsuit said.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The organization is also working with ranchers to establish prescribed burn associations to manage the damaging plants and is organizing community cutting days to reduce woody encroachment further.—
Kelli Bender,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
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Store cut or cooked squash in an airtight zip-top bag or container in the refrigerator for up to four days.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As part of a plea agreement, the murder charge was reduced to involuntary manslaughter, and the remaining charges were dismissed.—
Robert A. Cronkleton,
Kansas City Star,
22 Oct. 2025
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Additional heavy rainfall is possible beyond Saturday; however, uncertainty in Melissa's track and forward speed reduces confidence in exact totals.—
MIAMI HERALD HURRICANE BOT,
Miami Herald,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Finding the perfect one—one that doesn’t feel like a potato sack or scratch your skin—often takes a lot of trial and error, but the easiest way to sift through the endless options and find your next favorite sweater is by checking out what real shoppers have to say.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
19 Oct. 2025
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Rather than sift through the multitude of airpark websites, enthusiasts can filter available fly-in real estate to match their preference via sources like Trade-a-Plane, an aviation marketplace that’s logged everything online from aircraft parts to services since 1997.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
16 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Winnow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnow. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.
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