cull
verb (used with object)
to select and remove from a group, especially to discard or destroy as inferior.
were culling
-
past progressiveof cull.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The workers were culling birds at a commercial poultry farm that had been affected by the virus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2024
The Mariners tried to acquire Chapman when the A’s were culling their roster before the 2022 season to serve as a replacement for the retired Kyle Seager.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2024
In a co-written paper, he reported that forty-five per cent of the zoos had said they were euthanizing healthy animals; in this cohort, seventy-nine per cent were culling mammals.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 8, 2017
Still, the pace of layoffs has moderated significantly from the first quarter of last year, when employers were culling an average of 752,000 jobs a month.
From Reuters ● Aug. 7, 2010
On the Supreme Court docket, which the Justices were culling during their recess last week, are some 400 cases.
From Time Magazine Archive
