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 of cull

Verb

• select
• choose
• pick
• take

Noun

• discard
• second
• reject

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

Curator Marcus Lobbes developed the concept with Nils Corte and dramaturge Andri Hardmeier, feeding computers about 1,000 images culled from the 15 prior Bayreuth Ring productions. — ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026

This strategy was most convincingly implemented in 1997 on Monhegan Island, off the coast of Maine, where residents fed up with Lyme disease hired a sharpshooter to cull all of the deer. — Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026

Noun

Tech companies, especially large ones, have continued to cull jobs during the AI boom. — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026

On the company’s Friday call with analysts, Under Armour executives were peppered with questions about the new product cull, the company’s performance in different locales, and its overall marketing strategy. — Sara Germano, Sportico.com, 7 Aug. 2026

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

Rhymes for cull

• dull
• gul
• gull
• lull
• null
• scull
• skull
• stull
• trull
• tulle
• seagull

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