How to Use winnow in a Sentence

winnow

verb
  • Harvesters winnowed the chaff from the wheat.
  • The least qualified applicants were winnowed out of the initial pool.
  • Overnight, this winnowed the field.
    — Robert Hoban, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • These associates would then be winnowed out over time.
    — Atta Tarki, Harvard Business Review, 2 Oct. 2025
  • The club is winnowing down its pitching options.
    — Evan Grant, Dallas Morning News, 9 Mar. 2026
  • On Monday, the party will hold two rounds of voting to winnow the field to one or two.
    — Mark Landler, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2022
  • Is the only pleasure in her winnowing life to be denied?
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 Feb. 2026
  • The straw has to be gathered, the seeds winnowed, the fields burned, the soil turned, and there are only so many hours in the day.
    — Aryn Baker, Time, 12 Sep. 2019
  • The goal was to winnow down the story, to get to the basics but bring a human element to it.
    — Connie Nelson, Star Tribune, 26 Oct. 2020
  • That would winnow out most regular taverns, and any restaurant that serves dinner.
    — Steve Lord, chicagotribune.com, 8 Apr. 2022
  • From an original list of hundreds, editors and writers winnowed the pool down, week by week.
    — Mark Mravic, SI.com, 28 Aug. 2019
  • Just five candidates took the stage after some dropped out and campaign requirements winnowed down the field.
    — Rachel Cohrs and Sarah Owermohle, STAT, 8 Nov. 2023
  • Those new rules could also serve to winnow the field of AI models in China.
    — Paolo Confino, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2023
  • And even once people make it through the gate, processing delays sharply winnow the numbers of people cleared to board planes.
    — Marcus Yam, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2021
  • Our department heads know the parameters and winnow the requests to needs, not wants.
    — Nick Sortal, sun-sentinel.com, 14 Oct. 2021
  • Making a robot follow a model derived from our own gait would help winnow out some of the wonkier options.
    — Katrina Miller, WIRED, 4 Jan. 2023
  • 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
  • But winnowing the field also has the effect of narrowing the debate.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2019
  • In the past, authorities have set up roadblocks deeper in the country to winnow down larger groups.
    — Star Tribune, 1 Oct. 2020
  • The field will be winnowed to two finalists, with a vote of the circuit judges determining the winner.
    — Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
  • At the end of the process, the commission will interview some of the top contenders, before winnowing the list to three.
    — Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 16 Feb. 2024
  • The first knockout round continues through Friday night, when the field will be winnowed to 16 teams.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 28 June 2026
  • Voters' rankings could of course change before the field winnows again, so the analysis reflects where things are today.
    — Kabir Khanna, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2023
  • The search will cast a wide net and winnow the applicants down in a one-day, virtual pitch challenge hosted by John.
    — Mckenna Moore, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2020
  • The council winnowed that list down to five finalists who interviewed for the post last week ahead of Monday’s vote.
    — Mary Ramsey updated June 22, Charlotte Observer, 23 June 2026
  • That part of the series moves quickly and usually involves some brutal cuts to winnow the group of contestants.
    — Mary Colurso | [email protected], al, 8 Mar. 2021
  • Notably, voters will winnow a crowded field of candidates for governor down to two.
    — Paris Barraza, USA Today, 7 May 2026
  • And his anxieties seem propelled by a fear of winnowing potential, the feeling that he might be left behind.
    — Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2025
  • The primary will winnow the field of candidates and set November match-ups.
    — Todd Richmond, Star Tribune, 10 Aug. 2020
  • The playoff field for the 2023 NFL season has been winnowed from eight teams to four.
    — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'winnow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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