DictionaryAI

till

TIL/tɪl/

Noun pluraltills

Verbtills, tilling, tilled

14 meanings of till

Practice

  1. 1
    until a timepreposition
    Up to a certain time, but not after that point.

    We waited till noon for the bus to arrive.

    The store stays open till midnight on weekends.

    UsageIt means until. For a deadline, say by Friday.

    Similaruntil

    Note
  2. 2
    until something happensconjunction
    Up to the moment that something else happens.

    Keep stirring the soup till it starts to boil.

    We stayed outside till it got too cold.

    UsageSay till it boils, not with will.

    Similaruntil, unto

    Note
  3. 3
    nouncountable
    The machine or drawer in a shop or bank where money is kept.

    Like a money box that also keeps a record of what you sell.

    The shopkeeper rang up the sale and closed the till.

    She counted the coins in the till at the end of her shift.

    UsageSay open the till.

    Similarregister

  4. 4
    plowverbtransitive
    To dig and turn over soil to get it ready for planting.

    Like breaking up packed dirt so plants have a soft place to grow.

    We till the soil before the first frost of the season.

    Oxen once helped farmers till the heavy clay of these lowlands.

    UsageSay till the soil.

    Similarplow, cultivate, work, dig, turn

    Note
  5. 5
    to a placeprepositiondialectal
    To, as in 'she was good till us'.
    For a king to gang an outlaw till / Is beneath his state and his dignitie.
    1838, “The Outlaw Murray”, in Walter ScottHere, till means to, toward someone.
    And till the kirk she wadna gae, / nor till't she wadna ride, / Till four-and-twenty men she gat her before, / And twenty on ilka side
    1806, “Lord Wa'Yates and Auld Ingram”, in Robert JamesonHere, the first two tills mean to or toward the church.
    Note

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–2, 5, 7, 10

From an old northern English and Old Norse word "til" meaning "to." It is not a short form of "until"; in fact "until" was built from "till."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Meanings 3, 6, 12

From Middle English "tylle." It may come from a word meaning "to draw or attract," or from an Old French word "tille" meaning "compartment or shelter on a ship."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • The noun till derives from Middle English tylle. en.wiktionary.org
  • Middle English tylle may derive from a word meaning to draw or attract. en.wiktionary.org
  • An alternative derivation traces tylle to Old French tille, meaning compartment or shelter on a ship. en.wiktionary.org
Meanings 4, 9, 13

The Old English word was tilian. In Middle English it became tilyen.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

Meanings 8, 11

Origin unknown, but perhaps from the verb "till" (etymology 3), because this kind of deposit is used as a fertilizer.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts