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 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

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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Synonyms & Antonyms for cull

Synonyms: Verb

Synonyms: Noun

Antonyms: Verb

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 If things seem strange, wait a bit, especially if your method is running Tweet Delete repeatedly to cull more than 3,200 tweets. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "You Should Probably Delete All of Your Old Tweets. Here's How to Do It.," 17 Mar. 2021 Because council had budgeted under its contract with the state agency to cull 60, Welo put a stop to the plan for further sharpshooting to take place. — cleveland, "ODNR sharpshooters have culled 31 of a planned 60 South Euclid deer," 22 Feb. 2021 This caused the Danish government to cull millions of minks as a precautionary measure. — David Hogberg, Washington Examiner, "New coronavirus strain found in the United Kingdom," 14 Dec. 2020 But unlike a bucket-list goat hunt, volunteers were allowed to cull yearlings and nannies to reduce the breeding population. — Outdoor Life, "National Parks Service Increasingly Calls on Hunters to Help Cull Non-Native Bison, Mountain Goats," 24 Nov. 2020 The lack of revenue has forced Bernard to do the unthinkable: cull some of his beloved trees. — Los Angeles Times, "Weary but determined, California’s small, family-owned farms fight through the pandemic," 19 Nov. 2020 Even researchers competing in the Egg-Tech Prize themselves admit that, while a sexing technology may be on the horizon, cull-free eggs won’t be scalable for at least two more years. — Jonathan Moens, Smithsonian Magazine, "Can New Technologies Eliminate the Grim Practice of Chick Culling?," 17 Mar. 2021 Even researchers competing in the Egg-Tech Prize themselves admit that, while a sexing technology may be on the horizon, cull-free eggs won’t be scalable for at least two more years. — Jonathan Moens/undark, Popular Science, "US egg producers could save billions of chicks a year. So why aren’t they?," 15 Mar. 2021 Lamont expects to cull from the executive orders, or EOs, issued over the past year and asked the legislature to endorse a select few. — Mark Pazniokas, courant.com, "A year into the COVID-19 crisis, Ned Lamont is the face of the pandemic in Connecticut," 6 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The social media giant’s global cull of Australian news hit not only media companies, but also a wide range of governmental organizations, including some state and local health departments and the Bureau of Meteorology. — Robert Whitehead, Time, "How Australia May Have Just Saved Journalism From Big Tech," 22 Feb. 2021 Farmers complained that a compensation agreement wasn’t in place when the cull began. — James Hookway, WSJ, "Denmark to Dig Up Millions of Dead Mink After Botched Covid-19 Cull," 21 Dec. 2020 Before the cull began, the country had three times as many minks as people. — Washington Post, "After Denmark’s mink cull, questions over legality, science and what to do with ‘zombie minks’," 18 Dec. 2020 Denmark will dig up millions of dead mink after a hasty cull and burial intended to stamp out a coronavirus mutation ended with the rotting carcasses triggering a new contamination risk. — Morten Buttler, Fortune, "Denmark to exhume bodies of COVID-19 infected mink over contamination risk," 21 Dec. 2020 Denmark will dig up millions of dead mink after a hasty cull and burial intended to stamp out a coronavirus mutation ended with the rotting carcasses triggering a new contamination risk. — Morten Buttler, Bloomberg.com, "Denmark to Dig Up Millions of Dead Mink After Rushed Cull," 20 Dec. 2020 The country called off the cull after political opponents of the ruling party challenged its legal authority to issue the order, but has still recommended farmers kill their minks. — Marc Bain, Quartz, "Covid fears are disrupting the $30 billion global fur industry," 13 Nov. 2020 In early November, the country ordered a complete cull of the farmed mink population; even so, by the beginning of December, 289 mink farms in northern Denmark had reported outbreaks.. — Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, "The Mink Pandemic Just Keeps Getting Worse," 23 Dec. 2020 That assumption has now been called into doubt, and the government’s handling of the mink cull is haunting the country’s leadership — in more ways than one. — Washington Post, "After Denmark’s mink cull, questions over legality, science and what to do with ‘zombie minks’," 18 Dec. 2020

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.