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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of winnow
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
McGahern winnowed it to fewer than two hundred pages from drafts that exceeded one thousand.
—Sam Sacks, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled the shortlists for the 97th Oscars in 10 categories on Tuesday, winnowing the field of contenders across documentary, international feature, music, sound and visual effects.
—Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
To winnow it down, the academy first relies on the Producers Guild of America: Which producers were the most involved?
—Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Ed Garsten, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025
McGahern winnowed it to fewer than two hundred pages from drafts that exceeded one thousand.
—Sam Sacks, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled the shortlists for the 97th Oscars in 10 categories on Tuesday, winnowing the field of contenders across documentary, international feature, music, sound and visual effects.
—Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
To winnow it down, the academy first relies on the Producers Guild of America: Which producers were the most involved?
—Brooks Barnes, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnow
Verb
-
Egg prices surged Egg prices saw their biggest jump in nearly a decade last month, rising more than 15% after avian flu forced egg farmers to cull millions of laying hens in December.—
Scott Horsley,
NPR,
12 Feb. 2025
-
One hundred thousand ducks were culled between January 20 and January 23 at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, New York, after the virus was detected there.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
The Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
After Seidler’s death, the new controlling partner – his brother, John Seidler – began paring down the salary commitments.—
Dan Freedman,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
-
The network first aired MLB games in 1990, but the league said in a statement that it is dismayed at how ESPN has pared back its baseball coverage.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Indeed, superhero cinema seems to be trimming a lot of the fat that’s contributed to the genre’s loss of gloss from its heady days of late-2010s.—
Mark Hughes,
Forbes,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Also different in 2025, five broad categories were trimmed to three.—
David Spiegel,
CNBC,
24 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
People will chew on the Broadway first of an Othello directed and lead-produced by black men—Leon and Brian Anthony Moreland, respectively—and cut their assumptions about that to fit their pre-existing views.—
Maya Singer,
Vogue,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Second half Utah cut the deficit to one after outscoring Sacramento 13-5 to start the second half, but the Kings responded with an 11-1 run to push the lead back to double digits.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacramento Bee,
27 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Guided by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration has moved aggressively the past week to fire probationary workers across federal departments and agencies in an effort to drastically reduce the size of the government.—
Joey Garrison,
USA TODAY,
21 Feb. 2025
-
An extra set of eyes and ears helps reduce the odds of injury.—
Josh Honeycutt,
Outdoor Life,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
The winners will be those who can efficiently sift through vast amounts of data to create meaning–finding patterns, synthesizing, and connecting dots.—
Ann Kowal Smith,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
-
Visiting your library in-person also grants you access to librarians, who are basically book wizards trained to sift through the overwhelming number of options and match you with the perfect read.—
Carolyn L. Todd,
SELF,
21 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Winnow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnow. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share