as in cultivating
to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on
farmers tilling the soil from sunup to sunset
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Recent Examples of tilling
The grass and roots can then be raked out after tilling the soil and before planting flowers.
—
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2025
The disease presents growing risks not just for agricultural workers accustomed to tilling soil but also for those who move to new suburban developments or spend the weekend on a golf trip in a region where the fungus is present.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
Farmlands to wetlands George Tibbitts mostly farms rice, but his son Carson was tilling a safflower field on one mid-August morning.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025
The fragrance of dry grass mingled in the air with the dust kicked up by a tractor tilling in the distance.
—Elena Valeriote, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Mother Ezumi then called out the names of four other Sisters who would remain on the campus with the junior novices as a faculty skeleton crew, with the former attending to school administration and the latter engaged in their customary truck patch tilling.
—Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2025
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 28 Sep. 2025
The disease presents growing risks not just for agricultural workers accustomed to tilling soil but also for those who move to new suburban developments or spend the weekend on a golf trip in a region where the fungus is present.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2025
Farmlands to wetlands George Tibbitts mostly farms rice, but his son Carson was tilling a safflower field on one mid-August morning.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025
The fragrance of dry grass mingled in the air with the dust kicked up by a tractor tilling in the distance.
—Elena Valeriote, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Mother Ezumi then called out the names of four other Sisters who would remain on the campus with the junior novices as a faculty skeleton crew, with the former attending to school administration and the latter engaged in their customary truck patch tilling.
—Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tilling
Verb
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During the Soviet era, all the vineyards in the area were replaced with hazelnut trees and tea bushes because cultivating wine in this humid climate was deemed too difficult.—
Jessica Jungbauer,
Vogue,
6 Oct. 2025
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Actor Charlie Hunnum discussed with Variety the process of cultivating Ed Gein's voice.—
JR Radcliffe,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For example, doors open for the Soil to Fork Experience, where visitors learn about farming the Quintosapore way and are then treated to an outdoor lunch with a view of the hills and Città della Pieve in the distance.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
6 Sep. 2025
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Merrell Brothers lost money by farming the land to the tune of $3,061.—
Peter J Reilly,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The Unveiling of Goodall’s Rose Henry Breed, political adviser in the UN General Assembly, proposed creating the Jane Goodall Rose in hopes of planting it at the UN’s International Peace Garden.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Oct. 2025
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Make sure to take size into account when planting so the mums don’t give the coral bells too much shade.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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So, while you might be tempted to store the mower after dealing with seasonal tasks like composting annuals and harvesting your garden, remember to keep mowing your grass as needed.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 Oct. 2025
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Advertisement As tech leaders deploy strategies and narratives that echo those of colonialism (read Karen Hao for more), the Congo is once again in the crosshairs, with miners harvesting the cobalt that powers smartphones, computers and electric vehicles in slave-like conditions.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Maybe that means redecorating your home, tending to an elder, or creating new rituals that ground you.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
30 Sep. 2025
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Never mind that being the youngest captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963 would require him to balance his playing career with the time demands of being a Ryder Cup captain while also tending to his young family.—
Brendan Quinn,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tilling. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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