Winnow Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of WINNOW is to remove (something, such as chaff) by a current of air. How to use winnow in a sentence. Winnow Has Old English ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut winnow verb SaveWord win·​now |\ˈwi-(ˌ)nō \ winnowed;winnowing;winnows Definitionofwinnow (Entry1of2) transitiveverb 1a(1) :toremove(something,suchaschaff)byacurrentofair (2) :togetridof(somethingundesirableorunwanted):remove —oftenusedwithoutwinnowoutcertaininaccuracies—StanleyWalker b(1) :separate,sift anoldhandatwinnowingwhatistrueandsignificant—OscarLewis (2) :select 2a :totreat(something,suchasgrain)byexposuretoacurrentofairsothatwastematteriseliminated b :tofreeofunwantedorinferiorelements:pare c :narrow,reduce winnowedthefieldtofourcontenders 3 :toblowon:fan thewindwinnowinghisthinwhitehair—Time intransitiveverb 1 :toseparatechafffromgrainbyfanning 2 :toseparatedesirableandundesirableelements winnow noun Definitionofwinnow (Entry2of2) 1 :adeviceforwinnowing 2a :theactionofwinnowing b :amotionresemblingthatofwinnowing OtherWordsfromwinnow WinnowHasOldEnglishRoots MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutwinnow OtherWordsfromwinnow Verb winnower \ ˈwi-​nə-​wər \ noun WinnowHasOldEnglishRoots BeginningaswindwianinOldEnglish,winnowfirstreferredtotheremovalofchafffromgrainbyacurrentofair.Thisusewassoonextendedtodescribetheremovalofanythingundesirableorunwanted(acurrentexampleofthissensewouldbe"winnowingoutsensitivematerial").Peoplethenbeganusingthewordfortheselectionofthemostdesirableelements(asin"winnowingoutthequalifiedapplicants").Theassociationofwinnowwiththemovementofairalsoledtothemeanings"tobrandish"and"tobeatwithorasifwithwings,"butthoseusesarenowrare.Thelastmeaningsblewinaroundthebeginningofthe19thcentury:theyare"toblowon"and"toblowingusts." ExamplesofwinnowinaSentence Verb Theleastqualifiedapplicantswerewinnowedoutoftheinitialpool. Harvesterswinnowedthechafffromthewheat. RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Afterrelyingonattritiontowinnowitsstaff,Amazonnowhasabout100,000feweremployeesthaninthepreviousquarter. — MartineParis,BostonGlobe.com,29July2022 Illinoisofficialsarebettingthatconsumerdemandwillwinnowthatcarpsupply. — PeterKendall,WashingtonPost,22June2022 Towinnowthemdownto40finalistsand10winners,Lippold’steamandsomeexpertsrecruitedasjudgeslookedatfourcriteria. — SophieBushwick,ScientificAmerican,9June2022 Withonlydaysleftforcandidatestomaketheircasetovoters,mostCalifornianshardlyseemtohavenoticedTuesday’scontesttowinnowthefieldofstate,congressionalandlegislativecandidatesdowntotwofinalists. — JohnMyers,LosAngelesTimes,3June2022 Therearecurrently41runnersinthe5DecadesSub3(5DS3group),butthesixthdecadeissuretosubstantiallywinnowthenumbers. — AmbyBurfoot,OutsideOnline,10Dec.2019 WhileCongressenactedalawthatthwartedMr.Obama’splantoclosetheprisonbytransferringsomedetaineestoadifferentfacilityintheUnitedStates,theadministrationstillmanagedtogreatlywinnowdownthenumberofprisonersthere. — NewYorkTimes,4Feb.2022 Thatwouldwinnowoutmostregulartaverns,andanyrestaurantthatservesdinner. — SteveLord,chicagotribune.com,8Apr.2022 Tensionholdsthissymphonytogetherlikeasuspensionbridge—hornsandwoodwindsstretchingintotensebeamsthatwinnowintonearsilence,stringsawakeninglikedawnbehindacityscape,vertiginoustowersofhornstopplingover. — WashingtonPost,14Jan.2022 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun ButRepublicanshaveseentheirmajoritiesintheLegislaturewinnowoverthepastfewyearsto31-29intheHouseand17-13intheSenateandvoterscoulddecideTuesdaytoputDemocratsincharge. — AndrewOxford,TheArizonaRepublic,3Nov.2020 Butalargerfieldgenerallymeansalongercontest:Abasicruleofpresidentialprimariesisthatthemorequicklythefieldwinnows,thesoonertheeventualwinnercanreachthemajorityofdelegatesnecessarytowinthenomination. — LisaLerer,NewYorkTimes,12Feb.2020 Evenifthefieldwinnows,theraceappearsneckandneck. — CaitlinConant,CBSNews,9Jan.2020 Thatamountoffreedomkindofwinnowsandexpandsthroughoutthepiece. — SethColterWalls,NewYorkTimes,19Jan.2018 AndbysplinteringthevoteinOhioandFlorida,Mr.CruzalsoriskshandingMr.Trumpadvantagesinmomentumanddelegatesthatcouldbeunstoppable,nomatterhowmuchthefieldwinnows. — JonathanMartin,NewYorkTimes,5Mar.2016 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'winnow.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofwinnow Verb beforethe12thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedattransitivesense1a(1)Noun 1580,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforwinnow Verb MiddleEnglishwinewen,fromOldEnglishwindwiantofan,winnow;akintoOldHighGermanwintōntofan,Latinvannuswinnowingfan,ventuswind—moreatwindentry1 LearnMoreAboutwinnow Sharewinnow PosttheDefinitionofwinnowtoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofwinnowonTwitter TimeTravelerforwinnow Thefirstknownuseofwinnowwas beforethe12thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury ListentoOurPodcastAboutwinnow ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp DictionaryEntriesNearwinnow winnock winnow winnowingbasket SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforwinnow LastUpdated 27Aug2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Winnow.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/winnow.Accessed13Oct.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforwinnow winnow verb win·​now |\ˈwin-ō\ KidsDefinitionofwinnow 1a :toremovebyacurrentofairthepartsseparatedfromgraininthreshing b :toexposegraintoacurrentofairtoremovewaste 2 :tosortorseparateasifbywinnowing winnowedthegroupofcontestantsdowntofivefinalists OtherWordsfromwinnow winnower \ ˈwin-​ə-​wər \ noun MorefromMerriam-Websteronwinnow Thesaurus:Allsynonymsandantonymsforwinnow Nglish:TranslationofwinnowforSpanishSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY decorous SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary ChallengingWordsYouShouldKnow Oftenusedtodescribe“themarchoftime,”whatdoesinexorablemean? Unpredictable Relentless Swift Slow Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! 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