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
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
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
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In a 2017 oral history of the notorious scene, One Tree Hill creator Mark Schwahn recalled that the origins of the scene lay in the idea of cultivating some sympathy for the villainous Dan.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Nov. 2025
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While Republicans blast Mamdani as the face of socialism, Newsom has been quietly, and at times aggressively, cultivating donors, visiting early-primary states, and sharpening a message aimed at elevating California’s model of governance on the national stage.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Green Lake County’s 19,000 residents are predominantly white, churchgoing, and Republican, many of them farming, or working at gas stations and grocery stores, restaurants and lakeside resorts.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
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The vast majority of the residents are farming families who have harvested the land for decades.—
Barnini Chakraborty,
The Washington Examiner,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Thanks to the work of Joplin Cemetery Maintenance District Commissioner Sara Bell, that meant planting more than twice as many flags as cemetery administrators previously thought.—
Mark Dee,
Idaho Statesman,
11 Nov. 2025
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But, as with most fruit trees, planting another cultivar nearby may increase production.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Each affords particular outlets for decompressing and harvesting the stressors of high-capacity jobs.—
Essence,
Essence,
7 Nov. 2025
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Soybean farmers in states like Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana have been harvesting this fall without purchase orders from China, once the largest buyer of American soybeans.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The mayor helms numerous responsibilities for the town, per the city's website, including presiding over city council meetings, serving as a spokesperson for the community and tending to day-to-day operations in the city.—
Mason Leath,
ABC News,
7 Nov. 2025
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Among her future duties in tending to the Garden State will be oversight of its flourishing film and TV industry.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tilling. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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