1. (

• winnow ,

) separate the chaff from grain by using air currents; "She stood there winnowing grain all day in the field" ;

2. (

• winnow

) blow on; "The wind was winnowing her hair"; "the wind winnowed the grass" ;

3. (

• cull_out ,
• winnow

) 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" ;

4. (

• winnow ,
• fan ,

) blow away or off with a current of air; "winnow chaff"; "The speaker ceased to be an amusing little gnat to be fanned away and was kicked off the forum" ;