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Winnowing for Dummies

noun

pronunciation: 'wɪ,noʊɪŋ

What does Winnowing really mean?

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Hey there! I hear you're curious about the word "winnowing." Well, let's break it down together and make sure you understand it really well.

So, think about it this way: imagine you have a big bowl of cereal with lots of tiny pieces, but you don't want any of the crumbs or yucky bits in your bowl. What would you do? You might use a sieve or a strainer to shake it gently, right? That's kind of like winnowing.

Winnowing means separating the good stuff from the not-so-good stuff or the unwanted stuff. It's like sorting things out - finding what you really want and getting rid of the rest. In a way, winnowing is all about making choices and selecting only the best.

Now, let's take it a step further. Do you know how farmers grow wheat or rice? After they harvest these crops, they need to separate the edible grain from the chaff, which is like the dry outer covering of the seed. So they toss everything up in the air, and the wind blows away the lighter chaff while the heavier grain falls back down. That tossing and separating process is also called winnowing. It helps the farmers get rid of the unwanted parts and keep the valuable grain.

But hey, winnowing isn't just for farmers! We can use this word in different contexts too. For example, imagine you have a big pile of books, and you want to find a specific book. You start going through the pile, looking carefully and separating the book you want from the others. This act of finding and selecting is also another form of winnowing.

So, in essence, winnowing is all about sifting through things, picking out what you truly need or want, and removing the things you don't. It's like finding the best parts and leaving behind the rest. Pretty cool, right?

Now, tell me, did that explanation help you understand what "winnowing" means? Is there anything else you'd like to know?


Revised and Fact checked by Mary Johnson on 2023-10-30 04:16:05

Winnowing In a sentece

Learn how to use Winnowing inside a sentece

  • When you eat popcorn, you use winnowing to blow away the light, fluffy parts called the hulls, so you are left with just the tasty popped kernels.
  • Farmers use winnowing to separate the heavy grains like wheat or rice from the lighter grass or straw. This helps them collect only the good grains for eating or selling.
  • When you are on a beach and you want to build a sandcastle, you can use winnowing to separate the small pebbles and shells from the soft sand, so you have a smooth sand surface for your castle.
  • Imagine you have a big bowl of mixed nuts. If you want to eat only the cashews and peanuts and separate them from the other nuts, you can use winnowing to blow away the shells or the nuts you don't want.
  • In art class, when you want to paint with watercolors, you can use winnowing to remove the excess moisture from your brush. This way, you can prevent the colors from getting too watery and blend them nicely on the paper.

Winnowing Synonyms

Words that can be interchanged for the original word in the same context.

Winnowing Hypernyms

Words that are more generic than the original word.