winnow
/ˈwɪnoʊ/
noun
- A device or tool used for winnowing grain, such as a fan or a basket.
- The farmer used a mechanical winnow to speed up the harvest.
- He crafted a simple winnow from woven reeds to separate the seeds.
- The old winnow sat in the corner of the barn, covered in dust.
- The act or process of winnowing.
- The winnow of the grain took place on a breezy afternoon.
- After the winnow, the clean grain was stored in sacks.
- The rhythmic winnow of the chaff was a familiar sound at harvest time.
verb
- To blow air through grain, chaff, or other material in order to remove the lighter, unwanted parts.
- Farmers used to winnow wheat by tossing it into the wind so the chaff blew away.
- The machine winnows the rice, separating the husks from the edible grains.
- In ancient times, people would winnow barley with a large woven basket.
- To examine or sort through a large amount of information or items in order to remove the less useful or less important ones.
- We need to winnow the data to find the key trends.
- She winnowed her wardrobe, donating clothes she hadn't worn in years.
- The editor had to winnow hundreds of submissions down to just ten finalists.
- To separate or distinguish (something) from a larger group, especially by a process of elimination.
- It took hours to winnow the truth from all the rumors.
- The test helps winnow the best candidates from the pool of applicants.
- The coach will winnow the team to only the most dedicated players.