MEANING
1. To separate grain from lighter unwanted material by moving air through it.
2. To remove unsuitable items from a group or collection until a useful selection remains.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- winnow grain
- winnow wheat
- winnow the harvest
On the page
They winnowed the barley while the afternoon wind held steady.
The machine winnowed grain into one chute and chaff into another.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- winnow
- Past tense
- winnowed
- Past participle
- winnowed
- Present participle
- winnowing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- winnow
- Present continuous
- am/is/are winnowing
- Present perfect
- have/has winnowed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been winnowing
- Past
- winnowed
- Past continuous
- was/were winnowing
- Past perfect
- had winnowed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been winnowing
- Future
- will winnow
- Future continuous
- will be winnowing
- Future perfect
- will have winnowed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been winnowing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: winnow; winnows; winnowed; winnowed; winnowing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: winnows.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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