cull

Everyday

1. To cull animals means to kill some of them on purpose, to keep the group small or healthy. tree →
2. To cull means to choose or collect things from many sources: «facts culled from books». tree →
3. (noun) A cull is an act of killing some animals in a group. tree →

In the lessons

In science and nature news it is about managing animal numbers, for example deer or pests; it is often argued about. In maths problems a cull reduces a population: subtract. Phrases: «a deer cull», «culled from».

Examples

• The park plans to cull some of the deer. tree →
• The farmer culled the sick hens. tree →
• The facts were culled from old newspapers. tree →
• After a cull of 40, how many of the 300 deer are left? tree →
• Many people protested against the badger cull. tree →
• She culled the best photos for the album. tree →

Note

Sometimes a softer word for killing animals. Maths: a cull takes away from the number, so subtract. Not the same as «call» or «cool».