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

Some of the few surviving Old Dead fear that they have been culled by some non-human force. — Tom Shippey, WSJ, "Science Fiction: A New Novel Destined to Be a Classic," 28 June 2018 Wildlife officials had been culling deer to reduce the herd. — Frank Kummer, Philly.com, "Bow hunting for deer in Philadelphia? It's a real possibility," 22 Mar. 2018 In the United States, avian flu outbreaks have been brought under control by culling poultry. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "The Next Flu Pandemic Might Come from Dogs," 9 June 2018 More than 20,000 bears are kept, most in appalling conditions, across eastern Asia to satisfy an age-old obsession with the medicinal and magical powers of products culled from exotic animals. — Simon Denyer, Washington Post, "China’s bear bile industry persists despite growing awareness of the cruelty involved," 3 June 2018 The film offers glimpses of Sheeran and his talented collaborators riffing on guitars, humming over mugs of tea and ultimately culling together a record-breaking track list for the spring 2017 launch of Divide. — Raisa Bruner, Time, "New Ed Sheeran Documentary Songwriter Is an Unvarnished Look at the Craft of Hitmaking," 23 Apr. 2018 While the game is at least accurately named, the gunplay—originally designed to let players mow down hordes of mostly mindless AI bots—isn’t as suited for culling other human players in a Battle Royale mode. — Steven Strom, Ars Technica, "Fortnite brings out the 10-year-old fort builder in all of us," 17 Mar. 2018 This also doesn’t bode well for DCCC hopes of culling Democratic congressional fields over in California later this year. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "Texas Primary Roundup: Dem Turnout Shows Progress, But No Revolution," 7 Mar. 2018 The other half were taken using an online panel, culled from voters who agreed to participate in occasional surveys and are compensated in some fashion, Kimball said. — Richard Ruelas, azcentral, "Two polls have bad news for Gov. Doug Ducey's re-election campaign," 27 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

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 The university's first and only other cull was in 2015. — Ann Zaniewski, Detroit Free Press, "15 deer killed in first two days of cull at U-M Dearborn; hunt resumes Wednesday," 26 Feb. 2018 Over the last century, the chamber has staved off most efforts to decrease its size, although there was a big cull of hereditary peers at the end of the 20th century under then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. — Jenny Gross, WSJ, "Talk About Peer Pressure! U.K.’s House of Lords Prepares to Get Smaller," 15 Dec. 2017

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.