What does "till" mean?
A cash register.
Till
/tɪl/ conj, name, noun, prep, verb
conj, name, noun, prep, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A cash register.
- Grammar: till is listed as conj, name, noun, prep, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: aerating, agriculturalize, apply liquid to soil, aramus.
- Useful contrasts: fallow land use, after, beyond.
- Usage evidence: If you think education is expensive, wait till you see what ignorance costs you.
How to use "till"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "till" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "till" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "till" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "till" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "till" is acting as conj, name, noun, prep, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aerating" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "till", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A cash register. British
"I got most of the money to pay for all this by stealing. It was very wrong. Today I'm so finickity that I fired one of my staff for nicking twenty-pence worth of curtain hangers from Barkers because he couldn't be bothered to wait at the till queue."
- 2 glacial drift consisting of a mixture of clay, sand, pebbles and boulders
- 3 A vetch; a tare.
- 4 a strongbox for holding cash wordnet
- 5 A removable box within a cash register containing the money.
"Pull all the tills and lock them in the safe."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 manure or other material used to fertilize land dialectal
- 7 a treasury for government funds wordnet
- 8 The contents of a cash register, for example at the beginning or end of the day or of a cashier's shift.
"My count of my till was 30 dollars short."
- 9 unstratified soil deposited by a glacier; consists of sand and clay and gravel and boulders mixed together wordnet
- 10 A cash drawer in a bank, used by a teller.
- 11 A tray or drawer in a chest. obsolete
Verb
- 1 To develop so as to improve or prepare for usage; to cultivate (said of knowledge, virtue, mind etc.). transitive
- 2 work land as by ploughing, harrowing, and manuring, in order to make it ready for cultivation wordnet
- 3 To work or cultivate or plough (soil); to prepare for growing vegetation and crops. transitive
"Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken."
- 4 To cultivate soil. intransitive
- 5 To prepare; to get. obsolete
"Nor knowes a trappe nor snare to till"
Preposition
- 1 Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
"She stayed till the very end."
- 2 Before (a certain time or event).
"It's twenty till two. (1:40)"
- 3 To, up to (physically). dialectal, obsolete
"They led him till his tent"
- 4 To, toward (in attitude). dialectal, obsolete
""Here's at you old hoss!" hiccupped I, with a friendly pitch in the way of a nod at Rice. "Go it, young grampus, that's me! Here's till ye, my infant progidy!" replied he, as he clinked his glass against mine."
- 5 So that (something may happen). dialectal
"1953?, Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot VLADIMIR: Together again at last! We'll have to celebrate this. But how? (He reflects.) Get up till I embrace you."
Conjunction
- 1 Until, until the time that.
"Maybe you can, maybe you can't: you won't know till you try."
Proper Noun
- 1 A placename:; A river in Northumberland, England, tributary to the Tweed. uncountable
"Tweed says to Till: "What gars ye rin sae still ?" Till says to Tweed: "Tho ye rin wi' speed And I rin slaw Whar ye droon ae man,"
- 2 A placename:; A river in Wiltshire, England. uncountable
- 3 A placename:; A river in Lincolnshire, England. uncountable
- 4 A surname. countable
"Technically speaking, it’s Lucas Till, the actor playing Tripp, who is far too old to be riding a school bus, not his character in Monster Trucks, who is written as a 16-year-old, maybe 17 tops. But Till does not look 16, nor 17, nor even 18."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"If you think education is expensive, wait till you see what ignorance costs you."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "till"?
Common synonyms include: aerating, agriculturalize, apply liquid to soil, aramus, as long as, backset.
How do you use "till" in a sentence?
If you think education is expensive, wait till you see what ignorance costs you.
How do you pronounce "till"?
Pronounced /tɪl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English til, from Northern Old English til, from or akin to Old Norse til (“to, till”); both from Proto-Germanic *til (“to, toward”), from Proto-Germanic *tilą (“planned point in time”). Not a contraction of until; rather, until comes from till with the prefix un- (“against; toward; up to”) also found in unto. Cognate with Old Frisian til (“to, till”), Danish til (“to”), Swedish till (“to, till”), Icelandic til (“to, till”). Also related to Old English til (“good”), German Ziel (“goal”), Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌻 (til, “something fitting or suitable”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English tylle (“till”), possibly from Middle English tillen (“to draw”) from Old English *tyllan (“to draw, attract”) (as in betyllan (“to lure, decoy”) and fortyllan (“to draw away”); related to *tollian > Middle English tollen). Cognate with Albanian ndjell (“I lure, attract”). Alternatively, Middle English tylle is from Anglo-Norman tylle (“compartment”), from Old French tille (“compartment, shelter on a ship”), from Old Norse þilja (“plank”).
Etymology 3
From Middle English tilyen, from Old English tilian.
Etymology 4
Unknown, but possibly via etymology 3 (the verb) because alluvial deposit is used as a fertilizer.
Etymology 5
From Middle English tylle; shortened from lentile (English lentil).
Etymology 6
* As an English surname, reduced from a pet form of Matilda. * As a north German surname, spelling variant of Thiel.