culling

American  

[kuhl-ing] / ˈkʌl ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of selecting and removing desirable or undesirable individuals from a group.

   Reducing farm exposure to the bacteria will require more rigorous testing and culling of infected animals.

2. the process of gathering or collecting.

   To realize progress through the transfer of ideas, an informed culling of content and the extension of a shared knowledge base are essential.

3. the group of things resulting from either of these processes.

   The collection War in Context provides a crucial culling of stories that I would surely have missed had I not read it.

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Etymology

Origin of culling

cull ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

“ET” has long been culling the archives for the career retrospectives that air on weekends under the title “ET Vault Unlocked,” which are also available on demand through YouTube.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

In 2020, it ordered the culling of all roughly 17 million farm-raised mink in Denmark to stop the spread of a coronavirus mutation, a directive it later admitted had no legal grounds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

But some animal welfare campaigners said culling was inhumane and not effective in the long term.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

By culling the bears -- which can weigh up to half a ton and outrun a human -- officials hope to stem the threat across parts of northern Japan.

From Barron's • Dec. 24, 2025

In the 193os, America was infatuated with the pseudoscience of eugenics and its promise of strengthening the human race by culling the “unfit” from the genetic pool.

From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• choice
• collection
• draft
• election
• excerpt
• option
• pick