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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Recent Examples of winnow
The club is winnowing down its pitching options.
—
Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
And as this stuff shakes out, that 23 will probably winnow and what Dara’s talking about with the multichannel distribution is just messy.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
The leadership of the AI trade has been winnowed down to Alphabet along with memory stocks and the energy/electrification infrastructure suppliers, which are exploiting product scarcity to impose a quasi-tax on the builders.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2026
From that group, the Playwrights Project staff winnows down the number to a list of finalists and those scripts are read and judged by a group of theater professionals.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
And as this stuff shakes out, that 23 will probably winnow and what Dara’s talking about with the multichannel distribution is just messy.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 3 Mar. 2026
The leadership of the AI trade has been winnowed down to Alphabet along with memory stocks and the energy/electrification infrastructure suppliers, which are exploiting product scarcity to impose a quasi-tax on the builders.
—Michael Santoli, CNBC, 23 Feb. 2026
From that group, the Playwrights Project staff winnows down the number to a list of finalists and those scripts are read and judged by a group of theater professionals.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnow
Verb
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When the news broke in newspapers in Zimbabwe that the government was planning to cull 600 elephants, Krog made contact with the conservancy.—
Kamala Thiagarajan,
NPR,
26 Apr. 2026
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The story has been decades in the making as the Colombian government tried multiple nonfatal methods of culling the hippo population, including neutering and relocating.—
Carlie Procell,
USA Today,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The expected tariff refund helped push the company’s stock up 6% in pre-market trading, before paring back gains.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
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Decisions of how Brazzell fits into this receiver room — which has 10 players on its official roster and will likely have to be pared down to five or six by August’s final cuts — are months away.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Regularly trim ground cover plants around trees.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
30 Apr. 2026
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Revisions also have trimmed 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls, a sign that the labor market remains under strain.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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When the Broncos cut Greenlaw, the 49ers wasted no time in bringing him back to pair with middle linebacker Fred Warner in hopes of reviving one of the NFL’s top linebacker tandems.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Jacksonville general manager James Gladstone and coach Liam Coen cut their teeth as part of the Rams organization, learning from GM Les Snead and coach Sean McVay.—
Mark Long,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Connecticut’s Climate Progress report, required every three years by the state legislature, shows how Connecticut is continuing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
27 Apr. 2026
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Companies are taking steps to reduce their plastic consumption, according to Melissa Bastos, Cotton Incorporated director of corporate strategy and insights.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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At stake in the case is whether the government can sift through voluminous data that exposes a phone's location at a crime scene – without knowing who is holding it.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
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With 66 brands exhibiting at the world’s annual horological tradeshow in Geneva last week, there were a lot of novelties to sift through—and perhaps more covetable new references to try on, think about, and pick apart than ever before.—
Justin Fenner,
Robb Report,
22 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnow. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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