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
During his first five-year contract, Bennett, his staff and the board winnowed down the company’s budget to better match annual expenses and ticket sales, while also creating the Detour series of smaller, nontraditional opera works to expand the company’s audience.
—
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Despite industry-wide budget cuts and a shortage of doc distributors for nonfiction social issue fare, Powers winnowed the list of 23 docs from over 1,000 submissions.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
Zapata was selected from a list of 5 finalists, winnowed down from 166 applicants.
—Literary Hub, 22 July 2025
The race is bound to tighten somewhat after the September preliminary election, when the field will be winnowed to just Kraft and Wu.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
Despite industry-wide budget cuts and a shortage of doc distributors for nonfiction social issue fare, Powers winnowed the list of 23 docs from over 1,000 submissions.
—Addie Morfoot, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
Zapata was selected from a list of 5 finalists, winnowed down from 166 applicants.
—Literary Hub, 22 July 2025
The race is bound to tighten somewhat after the September preliminary election, when the field will be winnowed to just Kraft and Wu.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for winnow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnow
Verb
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Inditex also continued to cull smaller stores in favor of larger, upgraded locations, with gross floor space expected to grow 5 percent over the next year.—
Rhonda Richford,
Footwear News,
10 Sep. 2025
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But Kennedy has already propagated an insidious revolution within the agencies under his control, using a playbook familiar to illiberal leaders—culling expertise, silencing critics, and weaponizing administrative procedure to grant a veneer of legitimacy to his actions.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Novo shares climbed over 4% in morning trade, paring earlier losses.—
Karen Gilchrist,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
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That's why many urban cyclists pare such drivetrains down.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Undeterred, Rodgers connected on a five-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Warren to trim the deficit to 26-24.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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For his efforts, which also included spending more than $7,000 to trim trees and cut down two redwoods and a fir, he was rewarded with a certificate from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety that persuaded his insurer to maintain his coverage.—
Ethan Baron,
Mercury News,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Others have cut bills by a factor of five.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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Jobless claims hit their highest level since 2021 last week, adding to recent labor market revisions that have fueled confidence the Fed will cut rates in September.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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His team accused Whatley of distorting the facts to cover for his support of federal policies that reduced funding for local police.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Sep. 2025
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Valentino has been streamlining its wholesale channel, reduced by about 20 percent in 2024, a strategy that continued in 2025 and that is expected to impact its year-end performance.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Look in the mangroves for snapper, sift through the low sea grass for a chance to catch tarpon, or troll on the back of your boat for delicious mahi-mahi or swordfish.—
Teaghan Skulszki,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Sep. 2025
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Interview transcripts, customer feedback, survey responses—what used to take hours or days to sift through can now be summarized and tagged in minutes.—
Catherine Iger,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Winnow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnow. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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