till

[ til ]

/ tɪl /

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See synonyms for till on Thesaurus.com

preposition

up to the time of; until: to fight till death.

before (used in negative constructions): He did not come till today.

near or at a specified time: till evening.

Chiefly Midland, Southern, and Western U.S. before; to: It's ten till four on my watch.

Scot. and North England.

to.
unto.

conjunction

to the time that or when; until.

before (used in negative constructions).

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of till

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English (north) til “to,” from Old Norse til “to,” akin to Old English till “station, fixed point, standing-place” German Ziel “goal”

words often confused with till

Till1 and until are both old in the language and are interchangeable as both prepositions and conjunctions: It rained till (or until ) nearly midnight. The savannah remained brown and lifeless until (or till ) the rains began. Till is not a shortened form of until and is not spelled 'till. 'Til is usually considered a spelling error, though widely used in advertising: Open 'til ten.

Other definitions for till (2 of 4)

till²

[ til ]

/ tɪl /

verb (used with object)

to labor, as by plowing or harrowing, upon (land) for the raising of crops; cultivate.

to plow.

verb (used without object)

to cultivate the soil.

Origin of till

First recorded before 900; Middle English tilen, Old English tilian “to strive after, get, till”; cognate with Dutch telen “to breed, cultivate,” German zielen “to aim at”

OTHER WORDS FROM till

mis·tilled, adjectiveun·tilled, adjectiveun·till·ing, adjectivewell-tilled, adjective

Other definitions for till (3 of 4)

till³

[ til ]

/ tɪl /

noun

a drawer, box, or the like, as in a shop or bank, in which money is kept.

a drawer, tray, or the like, as in a cabinet or chest, for keeping valuables.

an arrangement of drawers or pigeonholes, as on a desk top.

Origin of till

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English tylle, noun use of tylle “to draw, attract,” Old English -tyllan (in fortyllan “to seduce”); akin to Latin dolus “trick,” Greek dólos “bait (for fish); any cunning contrivance; treachery”

Other definitions for till (4 of 4)

till⁴

[ til ]

/ tɪl /

noun

Geology. glacial drift consisting of an unassorted mixture of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders.

a stiff clay.

Origin of till

⁴

First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use till in a sentence

I can’t wait till I can make my way back to Caracas’s Williamsburg location again, and for the days when it might feel safe once more to squeeze sauce from a communal bottle and drizzle it atop Caracas’s pulled chicken and avocado arepa.
Why Caracas Arepa Bar’s House Salsa Is a Condiment All-Star|Tanay Warerkar|January 29, 2021|Eater
They were replaced, in several cases, by young cricketers who’d never played Test cricket—the arduous, five-day version of the game—till now.
Why Indian cricket is competitive when its economy is not|Samanth Subramanian|January 22, 2021|Quartz
When NASA finally gets back to the moon—probably not till sometime after 2024—it will start the groundwork for the first extraterrestrial colony in the history of human civilization, and for future missions to Mars.
This is what NASA wants to do when it gets to the moon|Neel Patel|December 9, 2020|MIT Technology Review
There’s a lesson in there, somewhere, though I’m not sure we’ll know what it is till we get a few years’ worth of distance.
David Fincher’s new movie Mank is a broadside against Hollywood self-congratulation|Alissa Wilkinson|December 4, 2020|Vox

Cancer took him swiftly, leaving behind a hole in my idyllic-till-then childhood.
Five Scientists on the Heroes Who Changed Their Lives - Issue 93: Forerunners|Alan Lightman, Hope Jahren, Robert Sapolsky,|December 2, 2020|Nautilus
They formed local councils, headed judicial proceedings, tilled the land, and rose through the ranks of government.
Two Decades After Genocide, Rwanda’s Women Have Made the Nation Thrive|Nina Strochlic|April 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Think of the possibilities when women are making sure that fields are tilled and crops distributed without corruption.
Nobel Peace Prize Winners Leymah Gbowee and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Recognized|Swanee Hunt|December 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
And every man tilled his land with peace, and the land of Juda yielded her increase, and the trees of the fields their fruit.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
He tilled his fields, herded his flocks, attended him in war, and assisted him in special emergencies with money.
The Private Life of the Romans|Harold Whetstone Johnston
Men again tilled their fields with their muskets by their sides, and slept in expectation of combat.
A Lieutenant at Eighteen|Oliver Optic
Vegetables would grow more freely if only tilled and encouraged a bit.
Gardens of the Caribbees, v. 1/2|Ida May Hill Starr
His father was an English yeoman; that is, a farmer who owned the farm he tilled.
Captains of Industry|James Parton

British Dictionary definitions for till (1 of 4)

till¹

/ (tɪl) /

conjunction, preposition

Also (not standard): 'til short for until

Scot to; towards

dialect in order thatcome here till I tell you

Word Origin for till

Old English til; related to Old Norse til to, Old High German zil goal, aim

usage for till

Till is a variant of until that is acceptable at all levels of language. Until is, however, often preferred at the beginning of a sentence in formal writing: until his behaviour improves, he cannot become a member

British Dictionary definitions for till (2 of 4)

till²

/ (tɪl) /

verb (tr)

to cultivate and work (land) for the raising of crops

another word for plough

Derived forms of till

tillable, adjectivetiller, noun

Word Origin for till

Old English tilian to try, obtain; related to Old Frisian tilia to obtain, Old Saxon tilōn to obtain, Old High German zilōn to hasten towards

British Dictionary definitions for till (3 of 4)

till³

/ (tɪl) /

noun

a box, case, or drawer into which the money taken from customers is put, now usually part of a cash register

Word Origin for till

C15 tylle, of obscure origin

British Dictionary definitions for till (4 of 4)

till⁴

/ (tɪl) /

noun

an unstratified glacial deposit consisting of rock fragments of various sizes. The most common is boulder clay

Word Origin for till

C17: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for till

till

[ tĭl ]

An unstratified, unconsolidated mass of boulders, pebbles, sand, and mud deposited by the movement or melting of a glacier. The size and shape of the sediments that constitute till vary widely.

Other Idioms and Phrases with till

till

In addition to the subsequent idioms beginning with till

till all hours
till hell freezes over
till the cows come home

also see:

hand in the till
until

till

Origin of till

words often confused with till

Other definitions for till (2 of 4)

Origin of till

OTHER WORDS FROM till

Other definitions for till (3 of 4)

Origin of till

Other definitions for till (4 of 4)

Origin of till

Words related to till

How to use till in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for till (1 of 4)

Word Origin for till

usage for till

British Dictionary definitions for till (2 of 4)

Derived forms of till

Word Origin for till

British Dictionary definitions for till (3 of 4)

Word Origin for till

British Dictionary definitions for till (4 of 4)

Word Origin for till

Scientific definitions for till

Other Idioms and Phrases with till