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
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Couvent is cultivating its own scene in the south of France, one that swings more Provence than Cote d’Azur.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
9 Feb. 2026
-
As the population ages and the number of college students declines, institutions of higher education are actively cultivating a crop of midlife and older students.—
Allison Aubrey,
NPR,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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He was born in 1919, the seventh of 10 children of Strother and Vallie Lee Ficklin who made a living farming their land, raising chickens, and making molasses.—
John Wrory Ficklin,
Time,
11 Feb. 2026
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In my view, many of those landowners do not want to continue farming.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This step keeps cuttings from becoming overly moist after planting.—
Barbara Gillette,
The Spruce,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Once your spring seed order has arrived from your favorite seed company, waiting to start planting your seeds can be difficult.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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That includes recording audio through your phone’s microphone, harvesting messages, contacts and account details, stealing photos and other files, making calls, even wiping the device.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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They’re each charged with burglary and illegally harvesting a tarpon.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That could look like doing physical labor at work, schlepping toddlers whose motivation to walk is shaky, or tending a backyard garden come spring.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
11 Feb. 2026
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His prolonged absence was due to his service as a loyal butler tending to the needs of the first family of the United States.—
John Wrory Ficklin,
Time,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tilling. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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