as in culling
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 winnowing
Even in the face of Comcast’s subscriber-winnowing move to shift NESN to its pricier service tier, the network’s ratings continue to grow.
—
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 12 June 2026
Iowa’s legislative funnel deadline has done its job again, winnowing the list of bills that still could become laws this year.
—Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register, 20 Mar. 2026
The club is winnowing down its pitching options.
—Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
Is the only pleasure in her winnowing life to be denied?
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
The fewer skiing trails and snow resorts that exist around the world, the more expensive and inaccessible these sports will become, winnowing the potential pool of future Olympians further.
—Laura Millan, Bloomberg, 4 Feb. 2026
All that standing and walking and winnowing down culminated with Tuesday night’s best in show event.
—Poupay Jutharat, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2026
As in baseball, the awards race may be winnowing to the two true outcomes — a world where Best Picture nominees are either a huge Hollywood blockbuster or a foreign-language film from Cannes.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Alegria also sees wild rice production growing using the traditional Indigenous methods of drying, parching, dancing and winnowing at rice camps in northern Wisconsin.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 12 June 2026
Iowa’s legislative funnel deadline has done its job again, winnowing the list of bills that still could become laws this year.
—Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register, 20 Mar. 2026
The club is winnowing down its pitching options.
—Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
Is the only pleasure in her winnowing life to be denied?
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
The fewer skiing trails and snow resorts that exist around the world, the more expensive and inaccessible these sports will become, winnowing the potential pool of future Olympians further.
—Laura Millan, Bloomberg, 4 Feb. 2026
All that standing and walking and winnowing down culminated with Tuesday night’s best in show event.
—Poupay Jutharat, Vogue, 4 Feb. 2026
As in baseball, the awards race may be winnowing to the two true outcomes — a world where Best Picture nominees are either a huge Hollywood blockbuster or a foreign-language film from Cannes.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2025
Alegria also sees wild rice production growing using the traditional Indigenous methods of drying, parching, dancing and winnowing at rice camps in northern Wisconsin.
—Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for winnowing
Verb
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Germany banned chick culling back in 2022, even before commercially viable in-ovo sexing machines existed.—
Christine Ro,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
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Last year, CargoWise and E2Open parent WiseTech Global announced a nearly 30 percent culling of its staff through 2027, overtly tying the job cuts to its deployments of AI technologies.—
Glenn Taylor,
Footwear News,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Ensuring your porch is unwelcoming by relocating bird baths or feeders and trimming nearby trees can prevent birds from making nests.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
13 June 2026
-
Midfielder Mauricio pulled one back for Paraguay in the 73rd minute, trimming the United States' lead to 3-1.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
Verb
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The lead stretched to 12 before Brunson and the Knicks rallied again, cutting the lead down to five halfway through the quarter.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
-
What else is going on AI is cutting hours of office work for workers.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2026
Verb
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This battery system will enable up to 12 hours of silent scientific operations powered entirely by batteries, reducing both emissions and underwater noise that can interfere with sensitive marine research.—
Dea Jusufi,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2026
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According to the researchers, the catalyst weakens excessive bonding between iron sites and hydroxyl intermediates, allowing the reaction to proceed more smoothly and reducing one of the major bottlenecks in zinc-air battery operation.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Mark Zuckerberg and Barack Obama, for example, both became known for paring down everyday decisions—famously, their wardrobes—to conserve mental energy for the calls that matter.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
8 June 2026
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Vasos told analysts Tuesday that many of Dollar General’s core shoppers, who have mid-to-low incomes and live in rural areas, were paring back their food spending.—
Anne D’Innocenzio,
Los Angeles Times,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Winnowing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/winnowing. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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