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

In other findings culled from The Harris Poll, shoppers were asked to rank their top holiday faux pas. —Arthur Zaczkiewicz, WWD, 4 Dec. 2024

Eight tracks culled from extensive jamming have been whittled down into hearty exercises in patient instrumental interplay. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 Dec. 2024

Noun

British mobile giant Vodafone is to axe 11,000 jobs over three years in the latest cull to hit the tech sector, as new boss Margherita Della Valle slammed recent performance. —Ryan Browne, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024

The government said the cull was necessary to protect native plants and animals in the alpine wilderness, which are vulnerable to damage from large numbers of feral animals. —Hilary Whiteman, CNN, 28 Oct. 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