winnow

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.

Faced with far more applications than slots, prestigious colleges winnow the pool of prospective admits through consideration of their academic records, test scores, activities and personal attributes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

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

While she said it’s not her place to suggest others drop out of the race, Reynolds said Iowa’s role in the nominating process is to start to winnow the field, which will happen naturally.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 9, 2023

Then, we came and gathered up what remained of the paddy and took it away to thresh and winnow.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya