cull vs pick out

cull

verb
  • To pick or take someone or something (from a larger group). 

  • To select animals from a group and then kill them in order to reduce the numbers of the group in a controlled manner. 

  • To kill (animals etc). 

  • To lay off in order to reduce the size of, get rid of. 

  • To gather, collect. 

noun
  • A lobster having only one claw. 

  • A selection. 

  • An individual animal selected to be killed, or item of produce to be discarded. 

  • A piece unfit for inclusion within a larger group; an inferior specimen. 

  • An organised killing of selected animals. 

  • A fool, gullible person; a dupe. 

pick out

verb
  • to select 

  • to send a long pass or cross to. 

  • to distinguish; discern 

  • To ornament or relieve with lines etc. of a different, usually lighter, colour. 

  • to remove by picking 

  • to detect using one's senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste) 

How often have the words cull and pick out occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )