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till, 'til, or 'till?
People often ask which is the correct synonym of until, till, ’til, or ’till?
Many assume that till is an abbreviated form of until. In fact, it is a distinct word that existed in English at least a century before until, both as a preposition meaning “to” and as a conjunction meaning “until.” It has seen continuous use in English since the 12th century and is a perfectly legitimate synonym of until.
’Til and ’till are much newer words, having appeared in the language only in the 19th and 20th centuries, respectively. Both are variant spellings of until and till. Writers of usage guides have roundly condemned ’till as a barbarism (apparently because it seems to have added a superfluous L to the end of until). ’Til, for its part, has been deemed inappropriate in formal writing.
In summary, until and till can be used freely and interchangeably, but you will probably want to avoid ’till and use ’til advisedly.
Examples of till in a Sentence
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 22 June 2025
Some pointed to the exceptionally dry conditions in central Illinois this spring even as the fields had been recently tilled.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 19 May 2025
Serge Lucio, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2025
Falling tax revenue means that China’s budget deficits are widening not because of extra government spending to help the economy, but because there is less money coming into the till.
—Keith Bradsher, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for till
Cite this Entry
“Till.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/till. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
till
1 of 4 preposition or conjunctiontill
2 of 4 verbtill
3 of 4 nountill
4 of 4 nounPreposition or conjunction
Old English til "until"
Verb
Old English tilian "to work (land) by plowing and raising crops"
Noun
origin unknown
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