winnow

1 of 2

verb

win·​now ˈwi-(ˌ)nō 

winnowed; winnowing; winnows

transitive verb

1

a(1)

: to remove (something, such as chaff) by a current of air

(2)

: to get rid of (something undesirable or unwanted) : remove

—often used with out

winnow out certain inaccuracies

—Stanley Walker

b(1)

: separate, sift

an old hand at winnowing what is true and significant

—Oscar Lewis

(2)

: select

2

a

: to treat (something, such as grain) by exposure to a current of air so that waste matter is eliminated

b

: to free of unwanted or inferior elements : pare

c

: narrow, reduce

winnowed the field to four contenders

3

: to blow on : fan

the wind winnowing his thin white hair

—Time

intransitive verb

1

: to separate chaff from grain by fanning

2

: to separate desirable and undesirable elements

winnower

ˈwi-nə-wər 

noun

winnow

2 of 2

noun

1

: a device for winnowing

2

a

: the action of winnowing

b

: a motion resembling that of winnowing

Did you know?

Winnow Has Old English Roots

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."

Examples of winnow in a Sentence

Verb

The least qualified applicants were winnowed out of the initial pool.

Harvesters winnowed the chaff from the wheat.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Affiliate shrinkage has winnowed the Big Four’s reach down to just 82.5 million of the country’s 125 million TV homes, down from 101 million just four years ago. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 21 June 2024

Sonnenberg said the idea of winnowing the field even further to give Boebert a formidable rival was discussed by several of the candidates in recent weeks. —Seth Klamann, The Denver Post, 9 June 2024

Noun

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, part of the US Department of Energy, used a Microsoft system that includes AI models and high-performance computing to winnow 32 million potential inorganic materials to 18 promising candidates in less than four days, Microsoft said in January. —Olesya Dmitracova, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024

Freedom of speech and inquiry are essential in education and democracy, but rigor and objectivity of thought provide the intellectual tools to know what to sift and winnow, distinguishing truth from falsehood. —WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English winewen, from Old English windwian to fan, winnow; akin to Old High German wintōn to fan, Latin vannus winnowing fan, ventus wind — more at wind entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a(1)

Noun

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

winnow

verb

win·​now

ˈwin-ō

1

a

: to remove by a current of air the parts separated from grain in threshing

b

: to expose grain to a current of air to remove waste

2

: to sort or separate as if by winnowing

winnowed the guest list down to 20

winnower

ˈwin-ə-wər

noun