noun The process of separating the chaff from grain by means of a current of air.
verb To blow or fan away the chaff from grain by means of a current of air.
In meteorology, winnowing refers to the process of separating different air masses based on their characteristics such as temperature and humidity.
In agriculture, winnowing is used to separate the grain from the chaff by tossing it in the air and letting the wind blow away the lighter chaff.
In culinary arts, winnowing can refer to the process of separating the husk or shell from nuts or seeds to extract the edible part.
In data analysis, winnowing is used to filter out irrelevant or less important data points from a dataset to focus on the most significant information.
In decision making, winnowing involves the process of carefully selecting and eliminating options to arrive at the best choice.
In writing, 'winnow' is used to describe the process of separating the good ideas or information from the bad or irrelevant ones.
Psychologists may use the term 'winnow' when discussing the process of filtering through thoughts or emotions to identify the root causes of certain behaviors or issues.
Chefs may use 'winnow' when referring to the process of separating the chaff from the grain, such as removing impurities from a batch of flour or grains.
Financial analysts may use 'winnow' to describe the process of filtering through data to identify key trends or insights that are relevant to their analysis.
Software developers may use 'winnow' when talking about the process of refining code or algorithms to improve performance or efficiency.