What does "cultivator" mean?

Any of several devices used to loosen or stir the soil, either to remove weeds or to provide aeration and drainage.

Cultivator

Common synonyms include: grower, agriculturalist, agriculturist, agriculturist, agronomist, cropper.

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
Any of several devices used to loosen or stir the soil, either to remove weeds or to provide aeration and drainage.
"Near-synonyms: scarifier, scuffler (not always precisely differentiated; dialectal usage has varied)"
2
a farm implement used to break up the surface of the soil (for aeration and weed control and conservation of moisture) wordnet
3
A person who cultivates.; Someone who uses a cultivator (implement, device, or machine).
"The cultivators were out among the row crops, keeping the weeds in check."
4
someone concerned with the science or art or business of cultivating the soil wordnet
5
A person who cultivates.; Someone who grows plants.
"Near-synonyms: grower, planter, farmer"

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6
A person who cultivates.; Someone who fosters something besides plants (such as human development or relationships). figuratively
"She was a wonderful cultivator of potential in her direct reports."

"I was really surprised to hear that this cultivator cost as much as 1 million yen."

From cultivate + -or, partly after French cultivateur.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.