Winnowing

win·now  (wn)

v. win·nowed, win·now·ing, win·nows

v.tr.

1.

a. To separate the chaff from (grain) by means of a current of air.

b. To rid of undesirable parts.

2. To blow (chaff) off or away.

3. To blow away; scatter.

4. To blow on; fan: a breeze winnowing the tall grass.

5. To examine closely in order to separate the good from the bad; sift.

6.

a. To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate: winnowing out the errors in logic.

b. To sort or select (a desirable part); extract.

v.intr.

1. To separate grain from chaff.

2. To separate the good from the bad.

n.

1. A device for winnowing grain.

2. An act of winnowing.

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[Middle English winnewen, alteration of windwen, from Old English windwian, from wind, wind; see wind¹.]

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winnow·er n.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

winnowing - the act of separating grain from chaff; "the winnowing was done by women" sifting, winnow separation - sorting one thing from others; "the separation of wheat from chaff"; "the separation of mail by postal zones"