as in cultivating
to work by plowing, sowing, and raising crops on
farmers tilling the soil from sunup to sunset
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tilling
Tractors pass by, tilling the soil.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Jan. 2026
Prepare the soil through core aeration or tilling 4 to 6 inches deep.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 8 Oct. 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
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Jan. 2026
Prepare the soil through core aeration or tilling 4 to 6 inches deep.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 8 Oct. 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
-
Moon Juice enters Target after cultivating a loyal customer base, Bacon said.—
Ryma Chikhoune,
Footwear News,
16 Feb. 2026
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In the ensuing months Epstein becomes a liaison between the two, with Epstein proffering offerings of assistance to both parties while cultivating his friendship with Barrack.—
Daniel Ruetenik,
CBS News,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Tanimoto’s father, who grew up in Hiroshima — the Japanese city later devastated by the first atomic bomb — immigrated to Hawaii before raising his family in Northern California and had recently retired from farming.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
19 Feb. 2026
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Fed up with the clip farming all over your FYP?—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When planting a group of landscape shrubs, simply lay down some fabric and cut holes in which to plant your shrubs.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Avoid planting it in overly rich soil.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
No matter your interests, there’s something for you in this gem of a mountain town—from embarking on half-day hikes and tastings at local wineries to riding the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway and harvesting fresh fruit at the largest apple orchard in the Southeast.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
19 Feb. 2026
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The machine moved forward and began harvesting potatoes on its own in the fields of Karnal, a city in northern India.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That Sunday afternoon, there were only a handful of gardeners tending their plots.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
-
To give voice to Congolese citizens, Anderson spoke with figures ranging from rebel leaders to medical personnel, from a regional king to an elderly woman tending subsistence crops in a cemetery.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tilling. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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