culled; culling; culls
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
culler
noun
: something rejected especially as being inferior or worthless
… how to separate good-looking pecans from culls.—
The Washington Post
The Washington PostSynonyms
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
Harry Weller, Hartford Courant, 2 Jan. 2025
The mission was simple: cull the emus and protect the wheat.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2024
Perhaps one of the biggest criticisms is that culls can’t do anything meaningful in the face of severe drought.
—Laura Paddison, CNN, 12 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cull 
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Verb
After duplicate names are culled, the jury administrator employs a randomizing algorithm to generate the summonses.
—Harry Weller, Hartford Courant, 2 Jan. 2025
The mission was simple: cull the emus and protect the wheat.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024
Noun
British mobile giant Vodafone is to axe 11,000 jobs over three years in the latest cull to hit the tech sector, as new boss Margherita Della Valle slammed recent performance.
—Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2024
Perhaps one of the biggest criticisms is that culls can’t do anything meaningful in the face of severe drought.
—Laura Paddison, CNN, 12 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cull
Dictionary Entries Near cull
Cite this Entry
“Cull.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cull. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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