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winnowto separate grain from chaff by blowing air through it

Part of speech: VERB

Definition: to separate grain from chaff by blowing air through it

Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈwɪnoʊ/

Example Sentences

  • My mom winnows through my closet like a detective, separating trendy clothes from fashion disasters.
  • The hiring manager will winnow the 200 applications down to just 10 interviews.
  • Dating apps help you winnow through potential matches faster than a tornado through a trailer park.

winnow

VERB

[/ˈwɪnoʊ/]

to separate grain from chaff by blowing air through it

A farmer winnows grain, separating kernels from chaff with wind
💡 Concept

A farmer winnows grain, separating kernels from chaff with wind

Winnow grain by the window, watch the minnow flow!
🎵 Rhyme

Winnow grain by the window, watch the minnow flow!

Got the picture? Now let's practice.

🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ˈwɪnoʊ/
🇬🇧 UK/ˈwɪnəʊ/

🌳Etymology

Rootwinn
Suffix--ow

Origin

From Old English 'windwian', derived from 'wind' (air in motion). The word is related to Germanic roots meaning 'wind' and developed from the literal action of using wind to separate grain.

Breakdown

win- (wind/air) + -now (to blow/fan) = winnow (to separate grain using wind)

🎵Rhyme

windowminnow
window
minnow

🔗Collocations

winnow out
winnow down
winnow grain
winnow candidates
winnow carefully

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

My mom winnows through my closet like a detective, separating trendy clothes from fashion disasters.

The hiring manager will winnow the 200 applications down to just 10 interviews.

😄 Fun example

Dating apps help you winnow through potential matches faster than a tornado through a trailer park.

The editor will winnow out unnecessary paragraphs from the manuscript.

📚Related Words

Synonyms

siftfiltersortseparatescreen

Antonyms

mixcombineinclude

Related

chaffgrainharvestselectionelimination

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