weed out (redirected from weed)

weed someone or something out

Fig. to remove someone or something unwanted or undesirable from a group or collection. (Fig. on removing weeds from the soil.) We had to weed the less productive workers out one by one. The auditions were held to weed out the actors with the least ability. I'm going through my books to weed out those that I don't need anymore.

See also: out

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weed out somebody/something also weed somebody/something out

to remove someone or something not wanted The school needs to weed out wasteful spending. You need to be able to weed people out if they can't do a good job.

See also: out