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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. Actually, it is a distinctive word that existed in English at least a century before until, both as a preposition meaning “to” and 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, either of until or of 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.
To sum up: until and till can be used freely and interchangeably, but you will probably want to avoid ’till and use ’til advisedly.
Synonyms
Examples of till in a Sentence
Journal Sentinel, 15 Feb. 2024
The old state seal of Minnesota depicts a white farmer tilling the soil, with a gun leaning against a nearby stump as a Native American riding a horse nearby looks in his direction.
—Mark Wasson, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2024
The old flag was criticized for its depiction of a Native American riding away on horseback while a white settler tilled a field.
—Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2023
Wearing overalls without the intention of, say, tilling soil or chopping logs opens the garment up to a world of style opportunity.
—Erika Veurink, Vogue, 1 Dec. 2023
If using cover crops, be sure to select one that can be killed by cold temperatures or mowing rather than tilling or herbicides.
—oregonlive, 7 Sep. 2023
Our ancestors tilled the earth, domesticated the beasts of the land, all in the hopes that one day, centuries hence, their descendants would be able to invent these spicy cheese puffs.
—Nena Farrell, WIRED, 11 Oct. 2023
The interviews revealed that the relic was initially discovered in 1962 by workers tilling a field, and that by 1964 it was broken in pieces.
—David Shortell Marian Carrasquero, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2023
In the meantime, volunteers with Friends of the Ballona Wetlands are tilling the soil and preparing to put in scores of new trees and plants to help with the environmental restoration.
—Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023
Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 18 Apr. 2024
Some places look abandoned: The lights are off but a pile of takeaway boxes sits by the till, lamps still hanging or chairs and tables intact.
—Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Black employees were relegated to work behind the tills and in stock rooms–or otherwise fired on the spot alongside anyone Marsan deemed too large or alternative-looking–while blonde and red-headed girls were rewarded with higher salaries despite being ineffective workers.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 12 Apr. 2024
In the middle of the lunch rush, The Grill’s manager notices money has gone missing from the till, and the undocumented Pedro is the prime suspect.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Feb. 2024
Build a cathedral in the dead of night & then give it
A shift meal, a smoking section, a cover charge, a swinging door, a till
To reckon.
—Amy Woolard, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024
Merchants receive significant value by accepting credit cards as cards cost less to handle than cash, checkout lines move faster and there is less crime (no money in the till means fewer robberies).
—Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2024
The Sprouse family farm covers thousands of acres of fertile glacial till, remnants of the last ice age, in northwestern Missouri.
—Michael Holtz, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2024
The company rolled out hundreds of such tills earlier this year as part of the effort.
—Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 21 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'till.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to till
Dictionary Entries Near till
Cite this Entry
“Till.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/till. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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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