cull

verb

\ ˈkəl

culled; culling; culls

Definition of cull

(Entry 1 of 2)

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) of especially weaker animals also : to hunt or kill (animals) as a means of population control The town issued hunting licenses in order to cull the deer population.

cull

noun

Definition of cull (Entry 2 of 2)

: something rejected especially as being inferior or worthless … how to separate good-looking pecans from culls. — The Washington Post

Other Words from cull Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about cull

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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

Short of less violent options, the only alternative might be to cull the population, although Russia's main environmental watchdog has so far refused to issue hunting licenses to civilians. — Sam Blum, Popular Mechanics, "'Mass Invasion' of Polar Bears Descends on Remote Russian Village in Search of Food," 11 Feb. 2019 The speed ratings were revealing:Madden's overall evaluations are culled from dozens of sub-component rankings. — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "'Madden NFL 19' player ratings: 9 head-turning observations include slight to Eli Manning," 12 July 2018 More and more, the ranks of commissioners are culled from the legislative branch. — Todd Henderson, Fortune, "Commentary: The Mick Mulvaney Proposal That Could Change the CFPB for the Better," 17 Apr. 2018 The wolves have helped to maintain the ecosystem by culling a moose herd that otherwise would overeat the island’s vegetation, while delighting tourists with their eerie howls and occasional appearances on backwoods hiking trails. — Washington Post, "Fading wolf population to be restored at Lake Superior park," 16 Mar. 2018 China's Global Times newspaper newspaper cited eyewitness photos culled from Chinese social media by news media in Taiwan and Hong Kong. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Has China Announced a New Long-Range Missile? (Updated)," 24 Jan. 2017 The Sundance Institute revealed on Wednesday 111 feature films, culled from 4,018 submissions, set to screen at the annual festival this January in Park City, Utah. — Lindsey Bahr, The Seattle Times, "Sundance Film Festival unveils 2019 feature film slate," 28 Nov. 2018 But that has dropped to near zero since January 2015, when China banned U.S. chicken products amid an outbreak of avian influenza in the U.S. Midwest that required tens of millions of birds to be culled from turkey and chicken farms. — Lingling Wei, WSJ, "The U.S. and China Are Hatching a Plan to Reopen Chicken Trade," 17 Jan. 2019 Will the party be confronted next year with one or two dozen viable candidates on the debate stage, each with their own financial base of support, and no way to cull the field before voting begins in Iowa? — Seth Masket, Vox, "Democrats in 2020 don’t have the Republican safety margin," 29 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

As revealed at the end of Infinity War, Captain Marvel represents Nick Fury’s ace in the hole and the last hope against Thanos and his universe-shattering cull. — Alex Abad-santos, Vox, "Captain Marvel and the future of the Avengers, explained," 18 Sep. 2018 While the government is pushing for softer measures such as sterilization for the pigs and education for humans who feed them, others say the solution is a full-scale cull of the swine. — Alice Fung, The Seattle Times, "In year of the pig, Hong Kong has had enough of wild ones," 6 Feb. 2019 The massive cull, which spanned 420 square miles, began in 2011. — James Rogers, Fox News, "Rat attack: World's largest rodent cull clears predators from Atlantic island," 9 May 2018 Overwhelmed by the numbers and dismayed by the futility of the cull, Berlin wildlife commissioner Derk Ehlert instead turned to the private sector. — Fox News, "Can't beat 'em? Eat 'em! Berlin captures, cooks crayfish," 11 June 2018 Overwhelmed by the numbers and dismayed by the futility and waste of the crayfish cull, Berlin wildlife commissioner Derk Ehlert instead turned to the private sector. — Washington Post, "Can’t beat ‘em? Eat ‘em! Berlin captures, cooks crayfish," 11 June 2018 The former want culls of the wolves; the latter emphasise better protection for livestock and resettlement of problematic packs. — The Economist, "A growing wolf population presents German politicians with a conundrum," 12 May 2018 But some ecologists suggest that the culls are damaging, and that the population estimates are over-optimistic. — The Economist, "The culling of kangaroos divides Australia," 15 Mar. 2018 Previous Snap culls, which took place last year and earlier this year, were smaller than that now being reported, measuring a dozen or two apiece. — David Meyer, Fortune, "Snap Stock Slips as Snapchat Maker Prepares For a Fresh Round of Job Cuts," 8 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cull.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.