cultivate
Americanverb (used with object)
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cultivates,
present (3rd person singular)
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cultivated,
past participle, past
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cultivating
present participle
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to prepare and work on (land) in order to raise crops; till.
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to use a cultivator on.
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to promote or improve the growth of (a plant, crop, etc.) by labor and attention.
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to produce by culture.
to cultivate a strain of bacteria.
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to develop or improve by education or training; train; refine.
to cultivate a singing voice.
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to promote the growth or development of (an art, science, etc.); foster.
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to devote oneself to (an art, science, etc.).
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to seek to promote or foster (friendship, love, etc.).
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to seek the acquaintance or friendship of (a person).
verb
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to till and prepare (land or soil) for the growth of crops
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to plant, tend, harvest, or improve (plants) by labour and skill
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to break up (land or soil) with a cultivator or hoe
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to improve or foster (the mind, body, etc) as by study, education, or labour
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to give special attention to
to cultivate a friendship
to cultivate a hobby
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to give or bring culture to (a person, society, etc); civilize
Usage
What does cultivate mean? When used literally, cultivate means to take steps to grow something or improve its growth, especially crops. When used figuratively, it means much the same thing, except that the thing being grown or improved is often an abstract thing, such as a business or a friendship. The literal sense of cultivate is most often used in the context of agriculture, but it can also refer to things being grown in a laboratory. Its figurative sense can apply to many different things, such as relationships, skills, and even cultures. Example: Farmers have cultivated a variety of crops in this region.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overcultivateverb (used with object)
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precultivateverb (used with object)
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recultivateverb (used with object)
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cultivatesimple
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cultivatessimple
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have cultivatedperfect
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has cultivatedperfect
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am cultivatingprogressive
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are cultivatingprogressive
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is cultivatingprogressive
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have been cultivatingperfect progressive
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has been cultivatingperfect progressive
Past
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cultivatedsimple
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had cultivatedperfect
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was cultivatingprogressive
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were cultivatingprogressive
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had been cultivatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cultivate
First recorded in 1610–20; from Medieval Latin cultīvātus, past participle of cultīvāre “to till,” equivalent to cultīv(us) “tilled,” derivative of Latin colere “to inhabit, till” + -īvus -ive + -āre, infinitive suffix; cf. cult
Explanation
To cultivate is to nurture and help grow. Farmers cultivate crops, fundraising professionals cultivate donors, and celebrities cultivate their images. When you cultivate something, you work to make it better. Originally, the word referred only to crops that required tilling, but the meaning has widened. No matter what is being cultivated, the word implies a level of care that is reminiscent of gardening. Sometimes friendships come naturally and sometimes you have to cultivate them. To cultivate anything requires an attention to detail, an understanding of what is being cultivated, and a lot of patience.
Vocabulary lists containing cultivate
The Vernal Vocabulary of Spring
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Asgard archaea are notoriously challenging to cultivate away from their natural habitats.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
Throughout the summer Andy Burnham's been attempting to cultivate a new style of communicating with a steady stream of social media videos designed to speak directly to the public.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
The state needs only to cultivate a few successful enterprises to jump-start the economy, said Zach Hernandez, who left for college on the mainland and returned to run a talent-development startup on Oahu.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
And despite all of the negative sentiment surrounding Iamaleava and his time at Tennessee, it was with the Volunteers when he learned how to effectively lead and cultivate camaraderie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
The translation was: I cultivate a white rose.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
To avert future calamities, the forest outside Bordeaux must be thinned and its fire breaks widened, said Arthur Guérin-Turcq, a Sorbonne University geographer whose family cultivates pines near Le Porge.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
With its focused screenplay, “Ice Princess” quickly cultivates an atmosphere that’s sympathetic to Gen and Casey.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
He now cultivates dragon fruit on 11 acres producing around 220 tonnes a year.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
But she has infuriated Xi at a bad time for Trump, as he cultivates a relationship with the Chinese leader.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
But now that I no longer live as a Catholic in a Catholic world, I cannot expect the liturgy—which reflects and cultivates my faith—to remain what it was.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
The irony, as the region stumbled into the ’80s, is that between its wealth and carefully cultivated isolation, Marin came to exemplify the ethos of conformist America: every man for himself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Whether a location was a garden, meadow, cultivated field or lawn explained differences in decomposition better than most of the soil characteristics the researchers measured.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
As the river changes course, fields can disappear faster than official records can keep up, leaving families with uncertain claims to land they have cultivated for generations.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Cook has cultivated particularly close ties with Trump, dating back to his first administration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
But like every other fascination Toby cultivated, Lily was ultimately temporary.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
It is a very different operation from the traditional way of cultivating avocados in India, where they were planted among other crops for shade.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Rather than simply cultivating conventional Spirulina, researchers are changing the conditions under which it grows to encourage production of specific compounds that are useful to humans.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026
The resignation of the education minister on July 25 marked a rare climbdown for a prime minister who has spent more than a decade cultivating an image of unwavering resolve.
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
He has spent his entire career cultivating a reputation as the sport’s most notorious pest, once proudly declaring, “I’m trying to make them hate me.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
He told his colleagues that he was cultivating a new Soviet source.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
