cull

verb \ ˈkəl \

|Updated on: 16 Aug 2018

Examples: cull in a Sentence

Definition of cull

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) 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.

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culler

noun

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Examples of cull in a Sentence

He culls his herd annually.
The town issued hunting licenses in order to cull the deer population.

Recent Examples of cull from the Web

Supervisors mostly agree with changing the bowhunting ordinance, but are not as interested in using other methods to cull the deer population, such as sharpshooting and birth control.

— jordyn noennig, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Delafield may ease rules on bowhunting as it considers reducing deer population," 2 July 2018
This season, more so than usual, there happens to be a plethora of options and decades to cull inspiration from.

— alice bell, Vogue, "The 6 Simple Statement Dresses You Need This Summer," 27 June 2018
Still, Alito suggested that Congress was pursuing a worthy objective by encouraging states to cull their databases.

— greg stohr, Bloomberg.com, "U.S. Supreme Court Backs States’ Voter-Purge Efforts," 11 June 2018
Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said federal laws allowed such notices as part of a process to cull inaccuracies from the voting rolls.

— adam liptak, BostonGlobe.com, "Supreme Court upholds Ohio’s purge of voting rolls," 11 June 2018
About 24,000 cows have already been killed in recent months and at least 128,000 more will have to be culled, most over the next year or two.

— nick perry, The Seattle Times, "New Zealand to kill 150,000 cows to end bacterial disease," 28 May 2018
Known for often working late-night magic to find a productive player deep in the 20s, general manager R.C. Buford and Co. will have a larger talent pool from which to cull their next rookie.

— jeff mcdonald, San Antonio Express-News, "A brief history of the No. 18 overall pick in the NBA Draft," 18 May 2018
The move was intended to cull Saddam loyalists from the rank and file, but the scars on Iraq's political society are still visible.

— balint szlanko and muhanad al-saleh, Fox News, "Iraq's Sunnis wary but hopeful about upcoming election," 11 May 2018
Lyndhurst Mayor Patrick Ward said the city has an Ohio Division of Natural Resources permit to cull once again this winter, again using the trap-and-bolt method.

— jeff piorkowski/special to cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "South Euclid Councilwoman seeks way to manage deer population; Lyndhurst again has permit to cull," 9 Jan. 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.