cull

[ kuhl ]
See synonyms for: cullculledculling on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to select and remove from a group, especially to discard or destroy as inferior: When I cull the smaller curved saplings, I'm careful to protect and nurture the straighter and larger trees.

  2. to discard unwanted parts or remove choice parts from (a group): Ranchers must decide whether to buy expensive feed or cull their herds to weather the drought.

  1. to collect; gather; pluck: Quotations are culled from a variety of literature, diaries and letters, local histories, journals, and newspapers.

noun
  1. the act of culling.

  2. something culled, especially something picked out and put aside as inferior.

Origin of cull

1
First recorded in1300–50; Middle English coilen, cuilen, cullen, from Anglo-French, Old French coillir, cuillir, from Latin colligere “to gather”; see collect1

Other words for cull

Other words from cull

  • cull·er, noun
  • out·cull, verb (used with object)
  • o·ver·cull, verb (used with object)

Words that may be confused with cull

Words Nearby cull

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cull in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cull

cull

/ (kʌl) /


verb(tr)
  1. to choose or gather the best or required examples

  2. to take out (an animal, esp an inferior one) from a herd

  1. to reduce the size of (a herd or flock) by killing a proportion of its members

  2. to gather (flowers, fruit, etc)

  3. to cease to employ; get rid of

noun
  1. the act or product of culling

  2. an inferior animal taken from a herd or group

Origin of cull

1
C15: from Old French coillir to pick, from Latin colligere; see collect 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012