tilled

past tense of till
as in cultivated
to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on farmers tilling the soil from sunup to sunset

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tilled Ali’s father tilled tiny ancestral fields using an irrigation system developed during the Roman empire. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026 Creative soil has to be tilled every once in a while. — Peter Bogdanovich, IndieWire, 13 May 2026 Red clover can make a drought- and shade-tolerant lawn alternative, but it is more often grown as an annual winter cover crop and then tilled into the soil as green manure. — Hallie Milstein, Southern Living, 13 May 2026 Unlike parks or residential lawns, cemeteries are rarely dug up, tilled or redeveloped — which means the soil remains stable year after year. — Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 23 Apr. 2026 Solid manure from feedlots, poultry houses or composting dairy barns is spread and tilled under. — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tilled
Verb
  • Fonda’s flawless silver pixie changed that, revealing his rare ability to transform gray hair from some something to be concealed into something to be expertly cultivated — a technique few colorists had dared to master.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The tobacco industry has cultivated the appeal of menthols in the Black community for decades.
    — Jason McLure — The Examination, STAT, 25 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • At times, her face is planted against projections of a raging California fire.
    — Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Each was designed to be planted and harvested under slightly different conditions.
    — Tamar Adler, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Bullseye Farms is owned by the Beeman family, who have farmed in Yolo County for more than 150 years.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • All of the water used in the resort is processed directly from the ocean on their on-site desalinization facility, and energy is farmed by two windmills catching the island’s regular air currents.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Each was designed to be planted and harvested under slightly different conditions.
    — Tamar Adler, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2026
  • By late summer, apples and grapes ripen, and hops are harvested through mid-September.
    — Mike Norton, Midwest Living, 26 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Tilled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tilled. Accessed 5 Oct. 2026.

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