culled: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C1Neutral to Formal
Quick answer
What does “culled” mean?
Selected and removed from a group, especially by killing or discarding.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
Selected and removed from a group, especially by killing or discarding.
Gathered, collected, or selected information, data, or items from various sources.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant spelling or meaning differences. Slightly higher frequency in British English in agricultural/wildlife contexts.
Connotations
In both varieties, 'culled' carries a strong connotation of deliberate, often sad, necessity when referring to animals.
Frequency
Comparably used in both varieties. The extended meaning (e.g., 'culled from archives') is equally common in academic/journalistic registers.
Grammar
How to Use “culled” in a Sentence
NP be culled (from NP)NP cull NPNP cull NP from NPVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “culled” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- The government culled over 50,000 badgers to control bovine TB.
- She culled the most relevant quotes from the lengthy interview.
American English
- The rancher culled the sick cattle from his herd.
- The journalist culled facts from dozens of reports for his article.
adjective
British English
- The culled deer population showed improved health metrics.
- A culled archive containing only the essential documents was published.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Referring to reducing staff or product lines: 'Underperforming branches were culled to improve profitability.'
Academic
Referring to gathering data: 'The examples were culled from a corpus of 19th-century novels.'
Everyday
Discussing news about disease control: 'Thousands of poultry were culled after the avian flu outbreak.'
Technical
In wildlife management or agriculture: 'The infected badger population was culled as a disease control measure.'
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “culled”
- Using 'culled' to mean simply 'killed' without the implication of selective reduction.
- Using it as a synonym for 'chosen' in positive selection (e.g., 'He was culled for the team' is incorrect).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. While its primary meaning in contexts like wildlife management involves killing to reduce numbers, it can also mean simply 'selected and removed' (e.g., culling old emails) or 'gathered from various sources' (e.g., data culled from surveys).
'Killed' is a general term for causing death. 'Culled' specifies a systematic, selective killing, usually for a purpose like population control, disease prevention, or improving the quality of a group.
Rarely in its core meaning, as removal often implies loss. However, the result can be framed positively (e.g., 'a healthier herd after culling'). In its extended meaning of 'gathering the best', it is positive (e.g., 'a collection culled from the world's finest libraries').
It is neutral to formal. It is standard in technical, academic, and journalistic writing. In everyday conversation, simpler synonyms like 'removed' or 'selected' might be more common unless discussing specific topics like agriculture.
Selected and removed from a group, especially by killing or discarding.
Culled: in British English it is pronounced /kʌld/, and in American English it is pronounced /kəld/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “culled from the herd”
- “culled from the best sources”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'CULLed' as 'CUtting the List' or 'Carefully Uprooting Limited Lives' - both capture the essence of selective removal.
Conceptual Metaphor
WEEDING IS CULLING (removing unwanted elements to improve the whole).
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is 'culled' used in its EXTENDED, non-lethal meaning?