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winnow

1 of 2

verb

win·​now ˈwi-(ˌ)nō How to pronounce winnow (audio)
winnowed; winnowing; winnows

transitive verb

1
a(1)
: to remove (something, such as chaff) by a current of air
(2)
: to get rid of (something undesirable or unwanted) : remove
—often used with out
winnow out certain inaccuracies Stanley Walker
b(1)
: separate, sift
an old hand at winnowing what is true and significant Oscar Lewis
(2)
: select
2
a
: to treat (something, such as grain) by exposure to a current of air so that waste matter is eliminated
b
: to free of unwanted or inferior elements : pare
c
: narrow, reduce
winnowed the field to four contenders
3
: to blow on : fan
the wind winnowing his thin white hair Time

intransitive verb

1
: to separate chaff from grain by fanning
2
: to separate desirable and undesirable elements
winnower
ˈwi-nə-wər How to pronounce winnow (audio)
noun

winnow

2 of 2

noun

1
: a device for winnowing
2
a
: the action of winnowing
b
: a motion resembling that of winnowing

Did you know?

Winnow Has Old English Roots

Beginning as windwian in Old English, winnow first referred to the removal of chaff from grain by a current of air. This use was soon extended to describe the removal of anything undesirable or unwanted (a current example of this sense would be "winnowing out sensitive material"). People then began using the word for the selection of the most desirable elements (as in "winnowing out the qualified applicants"). The association of winnow with the movement of air also led to the meanings "to brandish" and "to beat with or as if with wings," but those uses are now rare. The last meanings blew in around the beginning of the 19th century: they are "to blow on" and "to blow in gusts."

Example Sentences

Verb The least qualified applicants were winnowed out of the initial pool. Harvesters winnowed the chaff from the wheat.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
After relying on attrition to winnow its staff, Amazon now has about 100,000 fewer employees than in the previous quarter. Martine Paris, BostonGlobe.com, 29 July 2022 Illinois officials are betting that consumer demand will winnow that carp supply. Peter Kendall, Washington Post, 22 June 2022 To winnow them down to 40 finalists and 10 winners, Lippold’s team and some experts recruited as judges looked at four criteria. Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 9 June 2022 With only days left for candidates to make their case to voters, most Californians hardly seem to have noticed Tuesday’s contest to winnow the field of state, congressional and legislative candidates down to two finalists. John Myers, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2022 There are currently 41 runners in the 5 Decades Sub 3 (5DS3 group), but the sixth decade is sure to substantially winnow the numbers. Amby Burfoot, Outside Online, 10 Dec. 2019 While Congress enacted a law that thwarted Mr. Obama’s plan to close the prison by transferring some detainees to a different facility in the United States, the administration still managed to greatly winnow down the number of prisoners there. New York Times, 4 Feb. 2022 That would winnow out most regular taverns, and any restaurant that serves dinner. Steve Lord, chicagotribune.com, 8 Apr. 2022 Tension holds this symphony together like a suspension bridge — horns and woodwinds stretching into tense beams that winnow into near silence, strings awakening like dawn behind a cityscape, vertiginous towers of horns toppling over. Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2022
Noun
But Republicans have seen their majorities in the Legislature winnow over the past few years to 31-29 in the House and 17-13 in the Senate and voters could decide Tuesday to put Democrats in charge. Andrew Oxford, The Arizona Republic, 3 Nov. 2020 But a larger field generally means a longer contest: A basic rule of presidential primaries is that the more quickly the field winnows, the sooner the eventual winner can reach the majority of delegates necessary to win the nomination. Lisa Lerer, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2020 Even if the field winnows, the race appears neck and neck. Caitlin Conant, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2020 That amount of freedom kind of winnows and expands throughout the piece. Seth Colter Walls, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2018 And by splintering the vote in Ohio and Florida, Mr. Cruz also risks handing Mr. Trump advantages in momentum and delegates that could be unstoppable, no matter how much the field winnows. Jonathan Martin, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2016 See More

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English winewen, from Old English windwian to fan, winnow; akin to Old High German wintōn to fan, Latin vannus winnowing fan, ventus wind — more at wind entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a(1)

Noun

1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of winnow was before the 12th century

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