cull Definition
- 1to select or choose (a particular type of people or things) from a larger group and reject the ones that are not suitable
- 2to kill animals that are not wanted or cannot be kept
Using cull: Examples
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "cull" can be used in various situations through the following examples!
Example
The company decided to cull its workforce by laying off 20% of its employees.
Example
The farmer culled the sickly chickens from the flock.
Example
The park rangers culled the deer population to prevent overgrazing.
Example
The chef culled the best ingredients for the dish.
cull Synonyms and Antonyms
Phrases with cull
Example
I need to cull out the damaged books from the library collection.
to examine a large amount of information or data in order to find what is useful or relevant
Example
The research team spent weeks culling through the data to find meaningful patterns.
to reduce the size of a group or organization by removing the least productive or valuable members
Example
The company had to cull the herd in order to stay competitive.
Origins of cull
from Middle English 'culle', meaning 'to pick, pluck, gather'
Summary: cull in Brief
The verb 'cull' [kʌl] means to select or choose from a larger group and reject unsuitable items. It can refer to people or things, as in 'The company decided to cull its workforce by laying off 20% of its employees.' Additionally, 'cull' can mean to kill animals that are not wanted or cannot be kept, such as 'The farmer culled the sickly chickens from the flock.' Phrases like 'cull out' and 'cull through' denote selecting or examining information, while 'cull the herd' refers to reducing the size of a group or organization.