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

That information culled from district data was posted online in School Checkup, a lookup tool created by the papers so families and others could search their local school. — Wendy Ruderman, Philly.com, "$15.7M for emergency Philly school repairs to be announced by Hite, Wolf on Friday," 29 June 2018 Additionally, the chamber is culling together a group of 20 regional business leaders who will volunteer to raise awareness for the program and connect their local industries with the chamber staff member. — Kate Talerico, The Courier-Journal, "Lack of migrant workers leaves Kentucky searching for new labor pool," 25 June 2018 With the help of graduate students, Hayes has culled the medical records of 166 victims treated at Loma Linda over the past decade. — Kyle Dickman, Outside Online, "A Rattle with Death in Yosemite," 20 June 2018 Whether you're headed to the beach or a cookout, Pandora culled tracks by Bazzi, Maren Morris, Shawn Mendes and everyone in between that make perfect soundtracks for sunny days. — Shanté Honeycutt, Billboard, "Pandora Predicts 2018's Songs of the Summer, Including Cardi B, Drake & Ariana Grande," 12 June 2018 Ram and her team cull through that information, looking at the time stamp and location ID, to develop algorithms that could predict if students were at risk of dropping out. — Charlie Lapastora, Fox News, "Arizona professor tracking student ID cards to determine whether students will drop out," 23 May 2018 Especially not at depths greater than commercial divers can safely and routinely cull them. — Ben Lowy, Smithsonian, "The Lionfish Have Invaded, But a Ragtag Army of Divers and Chefs Are Fighting Back," 23 May 2018 The Dillon family and Hawran culled through an archive's worth of photos and materials related to the market. — Dennis Hohenberger, Courant Community, "WIN-TV Premieres 'Dillon's Market: A Look Back'," 17 Apr. 2018 In our modern sled dog world, culling does not mean euthanasia. — Jeff King | Opinion, Anchorage Daily News, "Jeff King: Let’s talk about dog euthanasia," 6 Mar. 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.