winnow

nouns

the act of separating grain from chaff

"the winnowing was done by women"

sifting, winnow, winnowing

verbs

separate the chaff from by using air currents

"She stood there winnowing chaff all day in the field"

fan, winnow

is derived from

winnowing

blow on

"The wind was winnowing her hair"; "the wind winnowed the grass"

winnow

is a type of (narrower)

agitate the air

fan

select desirable parts from a group or list

"cull out the interesting letters from the poet's correspondence"; "winnow the finalists from the long list of applicants"

cull out, winnow

blow away or off with a current of air

"winnow chaff"

winnow

is a type of (narrower)

remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract

"remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment"

remove, take, take away, withdraw