cultivate
verb (used with object)
to prepare and work on (land) in order to raise crops; till.
had been cultivating
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past perfect progressiveof cultivate.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
The device carried over from another project Diop had been cultivating, about an African mask telling its own story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 2, 2024
This was a running joke, but it was also a reflection of how Nikole had been cultivating the idea for what became the 1619 Project for many years.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2021
First, there was her newly released “White Noise, White Lines” album, a record that furthered the heavily traditional country slant of the folk-directed music the Ballard County native had been cultivating for years.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 24, 2020
It said that information was the object of "intense interest" to the Americans, and that Whelan had been cultivating potential contacts, online, for over a decade.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2020
I had been cultivating a headache for the last few hours—the kind of headache that felt like it was going to pop my eyes right out of my skull—and caffeine usually helped.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
