Winnowed: meaning, definitions and examples

agricultural process

Winnowed refers to the process of separating grains from chaff, which is the husks of seeds and fruits. This method is commonly used in agriculture to ensure that the seeds are clean and ready for milling or planting. It often involves the use of a fan or wind to blow away the lighter chaff while the heavier grains fall to the ground. The term can also metaphorically imply filtering out unnecessary or unimportant elements from something.

cleaned, filtered, separated, sifted

Examples of usage

• They winnowed the rice to remove the chaff.

• The farmer winnowed the wheat after the harvest.

• After the analysis, we winnowed down the options.

• She winnowed through the data for relevant information.