winnow
winnow — 動詞
- winnowpresent simple I / you / we / they
- winnowshe / she / it
- winnowedpast simple
- winnowing-ing form
1. to fan harvested grain so the breeze carries away the light chaff, leaving the h
簸揚
利用風力將穀粒與外殼分離
to fan harvested grain so the breeze carries away the light chaff, leaving the heavier seeds behind.
Eitan spent the afternoon winnowing the barley he had harvested that morning.
Eitan 花了整個下午簸揚他早上收割的大麥。
The women sat in a circle, winnowing rice with flat bamboo trays.
婦女們圍坐一圈，用扁竹篩簸揚稻米。
winnow + grain type: winnow rice with a tray
Farmers winnow beans by pouring them between buckets on a windy day.
農民在起風的日子將豆子從一個桶倒入另一個桶來簸揚。
Grandma taught Layla how to winnow millet using a woven basket.
祖母教 Layla 如何用編織籃簸揚小米。
The workers winnowed the wheat in the barn before the evening meal.
工人們在穀倉裡簸揚小麥，然後才吃晚飯。
文法句型
winnow + grain
2. to sort through a large set of people or items, keeping only those that meet a q
篩選
從大量中挑出少數優良者
to sort through a large set of people or items, keeping only those that meet a quality standard and discarding the rest.
The hiring team winnowed two hundred applications down to just eight candidates.
招聘團隊將兩百份申請篩選到只剩八位候選人。
winnow + down to + number: reducing to a specific count
Hugo had to winnow his book collection before moving to a smaller flat.
Hugo 搬家前必須篩選他的藏書。
Detectives winnowed the list of suspects by checking alibis one by one.
偵探逐一核實不在場證明來篩選嫌犯名單。
Bao spent the weekend winnowing old emails, keeping only what still mattered.
Bao 花了週末篩選舊郵件，只留下仍重要的。
Amara winnowed the best essays from the stack of three hundred submissions.
Amara 從三百份投稿中篩選出最好的幾篇文章。
- cull
more severe — suggests killing or permanently removing the unwanted ones, as with a herd of animals
- sift through
more casual and hands-on; suggests examining each item individually rather than a batch process
- narrow down
more common and neutral in register; lacks the farming metaphor and the sense of discarding waste
- filter
broader term used in both everyday and technical contexts; implies passing through a screen or set of criteria
- accumulate
to gather more rather than reduce
- collect
to bring together rather than sift apart
文法句型
winnow + group/list + down to + number
用法筆記
This sense extends the farming image of separating grain from chaff to any process of sorting what is valuable from what is not. Common in journalism and formal writing.
常見錯誤
winnow — 名詞
1. the process of blowing air through harvested grain to carry the chaff away.
揚穀
分離穀粒與外殼的動作過程
the process of blowing air through harvested grain to carry the chaff away.
The winnow of the rice crop took the whole village three days to finish.
稻米的揚穀花了全村三天的時間才完成。
After the winnow, the clean grain lay in a golden heap on the courtyard floor.
揚穀之後，乾淨的穀粒在院子地上堆成一座金黃色小山。
Rachid filmed the traditional winnow of wheat for his documentary on village life.
Rachid 為他的村莊生活紀錄片拍攝了傳統的小麥揚穀。
A good winnow leaves almost no chaff mixed in with the grain.
好的揚穀幾乎不會在穀粒中留下任何糠皮。
The children watched the winnow from the shade of the old mango tree.
孩子們在老芒果樹的樹蔭下觀看揚穀。
2. a tool or machine that winnows grain by using moving air.
簸穀機
分離穀粒與外殼的器具
a tool or machine that winnows grain by using moving air.
Nora bought an old wooden winnow from a farmer at the Sunday market.
Nora 在週日市集從一位農夫那裡買了一臺舊木製簸穀機。
adjective + winnow: old wooden winnow
The winnow stood in the corner of the barn, covered with a layer of dust.
簸穀機矗立在穀倉角落，上頭覆著一層灰塵。
Before electric fans, every village had a hand-cranked winnow for cleaning grain.
在電扇出現之前，每個村莊都有一臺手搖簸穀機來清潔穀物。
Sahil repaired the broken winnow by replacing its worn-out belt and shaking tray.
Sahil 更換了磨損的皮帶和搖篩，把那臺壞掉的簸穀機修好了。
The museum displayed a bronze winnow that was over two thousand years old.
博物館展出一臺有兩千多年歷史的青銅簸穀機。
- winnower
alternative term for the same device; slightly more formal
- fanning mill
a specific type of mechanical winnow, common in historical farming contexts