winnow
Americanverb (used with object)
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to free (grain) from the lighter particles of chaff, dirt, etc., especially by throwing it into the air and allowing the wind or a forced current of air to blow away impurities.
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to drive or blow (chaff, dirt, etc.) away by fanning.
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to blow upon; fan.
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to subject to some process of separating or distinguishing; analyze critically; sift.
to winnow a mass of statements.
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to separate or distinguish (valuable from worthless parts) (sometimes followed byout ).
to winnow falsehood from truth.
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to pursue (a course) with flapping wings in flying.
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to fan or stir (the air) as with the wings in flying.
verb (used without object)
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to free grain from chaff by wind or driven air.
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to fly with flapping wings; flutter.
noun
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a device or contrivance used for winnowing.
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an act of winnowing.
verb
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to separate (grain) from (chaff) by means of a wind or current of air
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(tr) to examine in order to select the desirable elements
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archaic (tr) to beat (the air) with wings
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rare (tr) to blow upon; fan
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of winnow
before 900; Middle English win ( d ) wen (v.), Old English windwian, derivative of wind wind 1
Explanation
To winnow is to blow something away until you are left with what you want, like grain from chaff. If you only want your favorite people to attend your party, you will need to winnow down the guest list from 300 to 30. To winnow is to use air to “separate the wheat from the chaff" — literally or figuratively. If a coach winnows down the top NBA draft picks to his number one choice, then he'll focus his negotiations on that player. Chances are, if you encounter the word winnow on a given day, it is probably not in the literal context of grain.
Vocabulary lists containing winnow
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Mythology
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As the job market cools, they are both raising the bar for entry-level jobs and seeking more consistent criteria to winnow the candidate pool.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
Ahead of Iowa, Ms. Haley had been looking to winnow the field.
From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2024
The point of the process is to winnow the field to a manageable size, and winnowed the field was.
From Slate • Jan. 20, 2024
Sound Transit’s governing board has started to focus on a future Lynnwood-to-Everett line, by voting Thursday to winnow the possible station sites in busy neighborhoods.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 23, 2023
How was she to winnow down her countless questions to a mere troika?
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
