as in cultivated
to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on
farmers tilling the soil from sunup to sunset
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Recent Examples of tilled
Solid manure from feedlots, poultry houses or composting dairy barns is spread and tilled under.
—
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
Both cardboard and newspaper will break down during the growing season and can be tilled under with mulch before the next planting season.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 14 Mar. 2026
These tools – still carrying the soil from which they were tilled – represent the work of the immigrant farmworkers of all backgrounds who helped build California’s agriculture industry, which continues to feed the nation today.
—Sam Vong, The Conversation, 18 Dec. 2025
The wheat fields themselves told their own story—deep brown and newly tilled in autumn, then green in spring, golden in summer.
—Hannah Howard, Travel + Leisure, 22 Nov. 2025
The rest was tilled into the ground.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
Château de Selle is located inland from the Mediterranean Sea, on limestone hillsides, planted in arid limestone soil––the earth is actually mechanically tilled to crush the rocks; yields from the 345-acre organic (since 2022) estate are low.
—John Mariani, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
Both cardboard and newspaper will break down during the growing season and can be tilled under with mulch before the next planting season.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 14 Mar. 2026
These tools – still carrying the soil from which they were tilled – represent the work of the immigrant farmworkers of all backgrounds who helped build California’s agriculture industry, which continues to feed the nation today.
—Sam Vong, The Conversation, 18 Dec. 2025
The wheat fields themselves told their own story—deep brown and newly tilled in autumn, then green in spring, golden in summer.
—Hannah Howard, Travel + Leisure, 22 Nov. 2025
The rest was tilled into the ground.
—Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
Château de Selle is located inland from the Mediterranean Sea, on limestone hillsides, planted in arid limestone soil––the earth is actually mechanically tilled to crush the rocks; yields from the 345-acre organic (since 2022) estate are low.
—John Mariani, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tilled
Verb
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Medieval schoolmen worrying over Aristotle could be pedants; so could cultivated female salonnières in seventeenth-century Paris.—
Clare Bucknell,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Israel cultivated a close relationship with Azerbaijan shortly after its independence, with the duo soon becoming one of each other’s most important allies.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The facility had been recently painted salmon pink with fresh saplings planted around the perimeter.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Equipped with a clear sense of what heartfelt hospitality looks like, thanks to hundreds of Airbnb stays, and the belief that tourism and hospitality, done right, can conserve what’s precious, the seeds for Tella Thera were planted.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The famous example, also beloved of Fundstrat’s Tom Lee, is that around 1900, 40% of the American workforce farmed.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
19 Apr. 2026
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Snow shapes everything from how food is preserved to how buildings are designed here, and even how the land itself is farmed.—
Iona Brannon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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However, hydrangeas also turn green simply in the maturation process and may be harvested and utilized in dry arrangements when this color is shown; such hydrangeas are referred to as Vintage or Antique.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
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Working under sunny skies, the group harvested hundreds of pounds of oranges destined for distribution through the Food Banks’ network of partner agencies, a news release stated.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tilled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tilled. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
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