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 PostExamples 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
Jeff Cox, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2025
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has forced U.S. farmers to cull 168 million birds since the outbreak began in February 2022.
—Donnelle Eller, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
Zak Doffman, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
In a February cull of Pentagon school books, a picture book about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon who was the first Jewish woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, was placed under review for potential DEI content.
—Grace Gilson, Sun Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cull
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Verb
Elsewhere in the report, service organizations dependent on government support noted difficulties since the White House began culling through agencies that get federal aid.
—Jeff Cox, CNBC, 23 Apr. 2025
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has forced U.S. farmers to cull 168 million birds since the outbreak began in February 2022.
—Donnelle Eller, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
Noun
Over the last year this campaign has reached new heights, with a cull of higher-risk Play Store apps, the promise of live threat detection, and a raft of new features dropping with Android 15.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
In a February cull of Pentagon school books, a picture book about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the liberal icon who was the first Jewish woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, was placed under review for potential DEI content.
—Grace Gilson, Sun Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cull
Cite this Entry
“Cull.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cull. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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