cull

[kuhl]

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.

   Synonyms: single out, cherry-pick

3. to collect; gather; pluck.

   Quotations are culled from a variety of literature, diaries and letters, local histories, journals, and newspapers.

   Synonyms: amass, garner

noun

1. the act of culling.

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

cull

/ kʌl /

verb

1. to choose or gather the best or required examples

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

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

4. to gather (flowers, fruit, etc)

5. 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

Other Word Forms

• culler noun
• outcull verb (used with object)
• overcull verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of cull¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English coilen, cuilen, cullen, from Anglo-French, Old French coillir, cuillir, from Latin colligere “to gather”; collect ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of cull¹

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

Example Sentences

Disease control measures have been put in place around the site near Omagh and all birds on the farm will be culled.

From BBC

CNN recently launched CNN Headlines, a free streaming channel that provides fast-paced delivery of national and international stories culled from the network’s reporting.

From Los Angeles Times

When the island became a state park in the late 1950s to early 1960s, the population exploded, leading to concerns about starvation and prompting the state to regularly cull the deer, she said.

From Los Angeles Times

Bupa was rescued from a mass elephant cull in Zimbabwe in 1989 and brought to the conservancy when he was eight years old.

From BBC

They called for more humane solutions like vaccination and neutering and warned that putting all strays in shelters would lead to problems like overcrowding and culling.

From BBC

Related Words

• extract 
• glean 
• pluck 
• select 
• sift 
• winnow