weed out (something)

When you have a lot of choices, you "weed out" some of the choices by taking away all of the ones that don't match certain requirements. So "weeding out" something means getting rid of it because it's not good.

For example, employers often "weed out" job applicants who have spelling mistakes on their resumes, or ones who don't have the right educational background.

This phrase appears in these lessons: