cultivate

verb

cul·ti·vate | \ ˈkəl-tə-ˌvāt

cultivated; cultivating

Essential Meaning of cultivate

1 : to prepare and use (soil) for growing plants Prehistoric peoples settled the area and began to cultivate the land. Some of the fields are cultivated while others lie fallow.

2 : to grow and care for (plants) a plant that is cultivated for its fruit They survived by cultivating vegetables and grain.

3 : to grow or raise (something) under conditions that you can control pearls from cultivated oysters

Full Definition of cultivate

transitive verb

1 : to prepare or prepare and use for the raising of crops Some fields are cultivated while others lie fallow. also : to loosen or break up the soil about (growing plants)

2a : to foster the growth of cultivate vegetables cultivate coffee

b : culture sense 2a cultivate oysters for pearls

c : to improve by labor, care, or study : refine cultivate the mind … cultivated a reputation as a hard-core wheeler-dealer …— Kit Boss

3 : further, encourage cultivate the arts

4 : to seek the society of : make friends with looking for influential people to cultivate as friends

Other Words from cultivate Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About cultivate

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Synonyms & Antonyms for cultivate

Synonyms

Antonyms

lose

Examples of cultivate in a Sentence

Prehistoric peoples settled the area and began to cultivate the land. Some of the fields are cultivated while others lie fallow. a plant that is cultivated for its fruit They survived by cultivating vegetables and grain. He has carefully cultivated his image. She cultivated a taste for fine wines.

Recent Examples on the Web The awards are international, so there has always been an interest in the academic affiliations of the Nobelists because those associations shed light on which academic institutions have helped cultivate these groundbreaking discoveries. — Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2021 That move helped cultivate San Diego’s cachet as a hotspot for interesting craft beers, particularly IPAs. — Mike Freeman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Aug. 2021 With that in mind, Chicoine said Morrison preached the mantra '24 strong' during practices, and ran drills to help cultivate chemistry and encourage communication. — Brian Haenchen, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Aug. 2021 Such an approach is typical at Fireside, which in March finished training its first 31 volunteers in a 36-hour program that included daily meditations and exercises intended to help cultivate a calm, authentic, and non-judgmental presence. — Delilah Friedler, Rolling Stone, 7 July 2021 One idea was to build a small lake to help cultivate population growth. — Michael Williams, Dallas News, 16 June 2021 The solo time helped cultivate London’s imagination. — Los Angeles Times, 25 May 2021 Rematriation is defined as encouraging local communities and other humans to cultivate native plants in a reciprocal manner in reverence with the natural environment through matrilineal teachings and values. — The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Sep. 2021 Maples, a former member of the Creative Writing faculty at ASFA, said Jones has a knack for being able to cultivate a love of writing in almost anyone. — al, 24 Sep. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cultivate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries Near cultivate

cultivar

cultivate

cultivated

Statistics for cultivate

Last Updated

16 Oct 2021

Cite this Entry

“Cultivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cultivate. Accessed 22 Oct. 2021.

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More Definitions for cultivate

cultivate

verb

cul·ti·vate | \ ˈkəl-tə-ˌvāt

cultivated; cultivating

Kids Definition of cultivate

1 : to prepare land for the raising of crops cultivate a field

2 : to raise or assist the growth of crops by tilling or by labor and care cultivate corn

3 : to improve or develop by careful attention, training, or study : devote time and thought to He's trying to cultivate a better attitude.

4 : to seek the company and friendship of As soon as Johnny began to cultivate Dove, he was surprised at the response.— Esther Forbes, Johnny Tremain

cultivate

transitive verb

cul·ti·vate | \ ˈkəl-tə-ˌvāt

cultivated; cultivating