cull

Meaning

Verb

1. To pick or take someone or something (from a larger group).
2. To gather, collect.
3. To select animals from a group and then kill them in order to reduce the numbers of the group in a controlled manner.
4. (euphemistic, nonstandard) To kill (animals etc).
5. To lay off in order to reduce the size of, get rid of.
6. To selectively not render or process certain objects, such as polygons.

Noun

1. A selection.
2. An organized killing of selected animals.
3. An individual animal selected to be killed, or item of produce to be discarded.
4. A lobster having only one claw.
5. A piece unfit for inclusion within a larger group; an inferior specimen.

Noun

1. (dialectal, slang) A fool, gullible person; a dupe.
2. (UK, obsolete, slang) A man or boy.

Synonyms

pick

⛏️

pluck

select

choose

gather

winnow

elect

reject

pick up

sort

pick out

prefer

reap

selection

cross out

crush

culling

cut out

draw away

drive out

edit

eject

election

eliminate

excerpt

excise

expunge

extirpate

extract

harvest

hollow out

kill

🔪🩸👤

lift

lop

mark

obviate

pick off

preclude

pull

purge

remove

rid of

scratch out

sift

stem

strike

strike off

strike out

strip

take

Translations

cueillir

raccogliere

pflücken

⛏️

escoger

toplamak

cogliere

⛏️

scarto

apanhar

runco

catar

vanner

neqandin

plukken

trier

Pronounced as (IPA)

/kʌl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: cullen

In summary

From Middle English cullen, cuilen, coilen, from Old French cuillir (“collect, gather, select”), from Latin colligō (“gather together”). Doublet of coil.