winnow
winnow Lexical Profile
winnow Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To examine a large group of people, items, or possibilities in order to remove undesirable elements and reduce them to the most suitable or valuable ones (often followed by 'out' or 'down').
"The hiring committee spent the afternoon working to winnow the pool of over two hundred applicants down to five finalists."
To blow a current of air through grain in order to remove the outer husks or chaff.
"After threshing the wheat on the stone floor, the farmers waited for a steady afternoon breeze to winnow the harvest."
To blow upon or fan something, or to beat the air with wings (especially in literary use).
"A gentle summer breeze began to winnow through the tall meadow grass along the riverbank."
• noun
A device, basket, or fan used for separating grain from chaff by means of a current of air, or the act of separating grain in this way.
"The museum exhibit featured a traditional woven winnow alongside other nineteenth-century harvesting implements."
• Rhymes for winnow
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old English 'windwian' ('to fan or winnow'), formed from 'wind' ('air in motion'). The literal agricultural practice of tossing harvested grain into the breeze so the wind blows away the lighter chaff later gave rise to the figurative sense of sifting through candidates or ideas.