cull

1 of 2

verb

ˈkəl 

culled; culling; culls

transitive verb

1

: to select from a group : choose

culled the best passages from the poet's work

Damaged fruits are culled before the produce is shipped.

2

: to reduce or control the size of (something, such as a herd) by removal (as by hunting or slaughter) of especially weak or sick individuals

The town issued hunting licenses in order to cull the deer population.

culling a herd of cattle

also : to hunt or kill (individuals) for culling

culling diseased cows

culled hundreds of deer

culler noun

cull

2 of 2

noun

: something rejected especially as being inferior or worthless

… how to separate good-looking pecans from culls.

—The Washington Post

Synonyms

Verb

• cherry-pick
• choose
• elect
• handpick
• name
• opt (for)
• pick
• prefer
• select
• single (out)
• tag
• take

Noun

• discard
• reject
• rejection
• second

Examples of cull in a Sentence

Verb

He culls his herd annually.

The town issued hunting licenses in order to cull the deer population.

Noun

the unbruised apples will be packed in bags, and the culls will be used for cider

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Milestones were squibs about births, deaths, and marriages, bits of information culled from newspapers and the wire services. —John McPhee, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025

Bird flu outbreaks cause egg prices to spike because the flocks that get it are culled, according to Leibsle. —Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 11 Jan. 2025

Noun

Officials could have immediately halted cow transport, and organized a careful and concerted cull of infected herds. —Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025

Regarding those public hunting opportunities, the DWR decided that inviting public hunters to help with the cull wouldn’t be as effective or efficient as using private contractors. —Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French culier, coillir, from Latin colligere to bind together — more at collect

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1809, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cull

1 of 2 verb

ˈkəl 

1

: to select from a group : choose

2

: to reduce or control the size of (as a herd) by removal of usually weaker animals

a hunt to cull the growing deer population

culler noun

cull

2 of 2 noun

: something rejected from a group or lot as being not as good as the rest