verb
- separates grain from chaff by blowing air through it
- removes unwanted elements from a group or collection
Usage: agricultural
Examples
- The farmer winnows the wheat to remove the chaff.
- She winnows through hundreds of applications to find qualified candidates.
- The committee winnows the list of nominees down to five finalists.
- Traditional methods winnow rice by tossing it in baskets.
- The editor winnows out weak stories from the collection.
- Time winnows away false beliefs and preserves truth.