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
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
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
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
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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Insider tip Yunnan and Kunming are known for their flowers, both wild and cultivated, so the hotel’s floral arrangements and garden landscapes are particularly beautiful.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
12 June 2026
-
CookUnity, a meal preparation subscription service with menus cultivated by local chefs, provides 40 to 60 half plates filled with ready-to-go meals, and places like Turnberry sometimes provide shrimp and other quality ingredients.—
Delia Rose Sauer,
Miami Herald,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Some villagers sat in the shade of towering fig trees, while others planted yams or dug the soil with tree branches.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
There, golden bamboo is freshly planted, new curvilinear furniture is featured, high tea is served and Mount Fuji can be spied in the jaw-dropping panoramas on clear days.—
Carrie Bell,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Verb
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The Pecos National Historic Park includes the battleground sites as well as the Pecos Pueblo where the Pecos people farmed and traded for more than 1,000 years.—
Alia Beard Rau,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
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Wild and farmed oysters can be the same species from the same coastal waters, but their shapes, shells, and heft will be different in ways most people never get the chance to notice, because wild oysters are rare at the average seafood counter.—
Bridget Shirvell,
Martha Stewart,
9 June 2026
Verb
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Spring onions, onions that have been harvested before the bulb has had a chance to swell, are a bit more fragile than adult onion varieties.—
Stacey Lastoe,
Southern Living,
14 June 2026
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These benefits are derived from a number of oils harvested from Amazonian trees, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and allantoin.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tilled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tilled. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
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