Word forms: plural, plural, 3rd person singular presenttense tills, present participle tilling, past tense, past participle tilled
1. preposition
In spoken English and informal written English, till is often used instead of until.
They had to wait till Monday to ring the bank manager.
I've survived till now, and will go on doing so without help from you.
Till is also a conjunction.
I hadn't left home till I was nineteen.
They slept till the alarm bleeper woke them at four.
2. countable noun
In a shop or other place of business, a till is a counter or cash register where money is kept, and where customers pay for what they have bought.
[British]
...long queues at tills that make customers angry.
regional note: in AM, use cash register
3. countable noun
A till is the drawer of a cash register, in which the money is kept.
[US]
He checked the register. There was money in the till.
Synonyms: cash register, cash box, cash drawer More Synonyms of till
4. verb
When people till land, they prepare the earth and work on it in order to grow crops.
[literary]
Workers were singing as they tilled the rice paddy fields. [VERB noun]
...freshly tilled fields. [VERB-ed]
Synonyms: cultivate, dig, plough, work More Synonyms of till
English Easy Learning GrammarPrepositionsA preposition is one of a small but very common group of words that relate differentitems to each other. Most English prepositions have a number of meanings ... Read more
till in British English1
(tɪl)
conjunction, preposition
1. Also (not standard): 'til. short for until
2. Scottish
to; towards
3. dialect
in order that
come here till I tell you
▶ USAGE 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
Word origin
Old English til; related to Old Norse til to, Old High German zil goal, aim
till in British English2
(tɪl)
verb(transitive)
1.
to cultivate and work (land) for the raising of crops
2. another word for plough
Derived forms
tillable (ˈtillable)
adjective
tiller (ˈtiller)
noun
Word origin
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
till in British English3
(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
C15 tylle, of obscure origin
till in British English4
(tɪl)
noun
an unstratified glacial deposit consisting of rock fragments of various sizes. The most common is boulder clay
Word origin
C17: of unknown origin
till in American English1
(tɪl)
verb transitive, verb intransitive
to work (land) in raising crops, as by plowing and fertilizing; cultivate
Word origin
ME tillen < OE tilian, lit., to strive for, work for, akin to Ger zielen, to aim, strive, ziel, point aimed at < IE base *ad-, to order, establish
till in American English2
(tɪl)
noun
1.
a drawer or tray for keeping money
2.
ready cash
Word origin
earlier tille < ? ME tillen, to draw, reach < OE
till in American English3
(tɪl)
preposition
1.
until
2. Scottish
up to the place of; as far as
conjunction
3.
until
Word origin
ME < OE til, akin to ON, to, till, OE, fitness: for IE base see till1
till in American English4
(tɪl)
noun
unstratified, unsorted, glacial drift of clay, sand, boulders, and gravel
Word origin
? var. of ME thill, substratum of clay < ? thille, a board, flooring; akin to diele < IE base *tel-, flat surface > L tellus, earth
More idioms containing
till
have your hand in the till
Examples of 'till' in a sentence
till
I always leave my shopping till the last minute.
The Sun (2016)
Details are usually printed on till receipts, in-store signs and online.
The Sun (2016)
And what if you just want to be pampered rotten or shop till you drop?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Most are looking for tablet and mobile sales to drive till receipts.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
You have to work hard till the end.
The Sun (2013)
She certainly knows how to keep the cash tills ringing.
The Sun (2007)
They keep a tidy house and they work till they drop.
The Sun (2011)
She asked for a cash till that they can share.
The Sun (2014)
Criminals could soon be caught by the fingerprints they leave on till and cash machine receipts.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Cool the gelatine mixture till half set and then spoon it in heaps on top of the cheesecake.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
You might as well ask who is going to know if you dip your fingers into the till at work.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Nobody had to till the land.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But there were no tills ringing.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Here are all my till receipts.
The Sun (2009)
They stayed till the sun set.
Aldiss, Brian Somewhere East of Life (1994)
And get those tills ringing again.
The Sun (2011)
You won't know till you ask her.
The Sun (2007)
At the moment, the ground floor till is in a wooden hut.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
There's also a farm shop with no till but an honesty board to write down purchases.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There were no till receipts, no betting slips.
The Sun (2013)
The generation that shopped till it dropped will have to work till it drops, to help support the generations on either side.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
I won't drink till the last week.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
She wants Grace and won't stop till she gets her.
The Sun (2015)
We should be encouraging godly marriages, yes, but we should also be giving singles land to till.
Christianity Today (2000)
Here live the millions who fill the churches, serve the military, man the factories and till the land.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
In other languages
till
British English: till /tɪl/ CONJUNCTION
If something happens till something else happens, the first thing happens before the other thing and stops when the other thing happens.
They slept till the alarm woke them.
American English: till
Arabic: إِلَى أَنْ
Brazilian Portuguese: até que
Chinese: 直到
Croatian: dok
Czech: dokud
Danish: indtil
Dutch: tot
European Spanish: hasta que
Finnish: kunnes
French: jusqu’à
German: bis
Greek: έως ότου
Italian: finché
Japanese: ･･･する時まで
Korean: ...까지
Norwegian: (helt) til
Polish: aż
European Portuguese: até que
Romanian: până ce (temporal)
Russian: пока
Latin American Spanish: hasta que
Swedish: tills
Thai: จนกระทั่ง
Turkish: kadar zaman
Ukrainian: поки
Vietnamese: cho tới khi
British English: till /tɪl/ NOUN
In a shop, a till is a cash register where money is kept, and where customers pay for what they have bought.
Long queues at tills can make customers angry.
American English: cash register
Arabic: دُرْجُ النُّقُود
Brazilian Portuguese: caixa registradora
Chinese: 钱柜
Croatian: blagajna
Czech: pokladna v obchodě
Danish: kasseapparat
Dutch: kassa
European Spanish: caja registradora
Finnish: kassa
French: caisse
German: Kasse
Greek: συρτάρι εισπράξεων
Italian: cassa registratore di cassa
Japanese: レジ
Korean: 현금 서랍
Norwegian: pengeskrin
Polish: kasa sklepowa
European Portuguese: caixa registadora
Romanian: sertar la tejgheaîn care se țin banii
Russian: касса
Latin American Spanish: caja registradora
Swedish: kassa
Thai: กล่องหรือลิ้นชักเก็บเงิน
Turkish: yazar kasa
Ukrainian: каса
Vietnamese: ngăn kéo để tiền
British English: till /tɪl/ PREPOSITION
until but not later than If something happens till a time, it happens before that time and stops at that time.
She lived there till last year.
American English: till
Arabic: إِلَى أَنْ
Brazilian Portuguese: até
Chinese: 直到
Croatian: do
Czech: do
Danish: indtil
Dutch: tot
European Spanish: hasta
Finnish: asti
French: jusqu’à
German: bis
Greek: μέχρι
Italian: fino a
Japanese: ･･･まで
Korean: ...까지
Norwegian: inntil
Polish: aż do
European Portuguese: até
Romanian: până (temporal)
Russian: до
Latin American Spanish: hasta
Swedish: tills
Thai: จนกว่า จนกระทั่ง
Turkish: kadar yer
Ukrainian: до
Vietnamese: cho đến
British English: till /tɪl/ PREPOSITION
before If something does not happen till a time, it does not happen before that time and only starts happening at that time.
The shop doesn't open till half past nine.
American English: till
Arabic: حَتَّى
Brazilian Portuguese: até
Chinese: 直到
Croatian: do
Czech: teprve
Danish: til
Dutch: tot
European Spanish: hasta
Finnish: ennen kuin
French: jusqu'à
German: bis
Greek: μέχρι
Italian: fino a
Japanese: ･･･まで
Korean: ~까지
Norwegian: til
Polish: do (czasu)
European Portuguese: até
Romanian: până la (temporal)mai devreme de
Russian: до
Latin American Spanish: hasta
Swedish: tills
Thai: จนกว่า
Turkish: e kadar
Ukrainian: до
Vietnamese: cho đến khi
All related terms of 'till'
till receipt
a receipt issued from a till
till all hours
until very late
Till Eulenspiegel
?14th century, legendary German peasant , whose pranks became the subject of many tales
no-tillage
a system of farming in which planting is done in a narrow trench , without tillage , and weeds are controlled with herbicide
shop till you drop
If you shop till you drop , you do a large amount of shopping.
till the cows come home
for a very long time; effectively for ever
have your hand in the till
to be caught stealing or doing something wrong . The usual American expression is be caught with your hand in the cookie jar .
Chinese translation of 'till'
till
(tɪl)
n(c)
(Brit, in shop etc) 收银(銀)台(臺) (shōuyíntái) (个(個), gè)
美 = cash register
vt
(= cultivate)[land, soil]耕种(種) (gēngzhòng)
prep, conj
=until
see until
(verb)
Definition
to cultivate (land) for the raising of crops
freshly tilled fields
Synonyms
cultivate
She cultivated a small garden of her own.
dig
He was outside digging the garden.
plough
They ploughed 100,000 acres of virgin moorland.
work
Farmers worked the fertile valleys.
turn over
(noun)
Definition
a box or drawer into which money taken from customers is put, now usually part of a cash register
He checked the register. There was money in the till.
Synonyms
cash register
cash box
cash drawer
Additional synonyms
in the sense of dig
Definition
to cut into, break up, and turn over or remove (earth), esp. with a spade
He was outside digging the garden.
Synonyms
turn over,
till,
break up,
work,
hoe
in the sense of plough
Definition
to make (furrows or grooves) in (something) with or as if with a plough