Meaning & use
till
Last updated
Meanings
preposition
Up to the time that something happens; until.
Grammar: Followed by a noun or a clause: till Friday, till we meet.
Patterns
- till + time noun
- till + clause
The store is open till nine o'clock.
Just wait till I finish this email.
We didn't get home till after midnight.
conjunction
Up to the time when; until.
Grammar: Introduces a clause: stay till the rain stops.
Patterns
- till + subject + verb
Keep stirring till the sauce thickens.
He waited till everyone had left.
nouncountable
A drawer or machine that holds money in a shop or bank.
Grammar: Usually singular in everyday use: the till.
Patterns
- open the till
- in the till
The cashier counted the money in the till.
Someone forgot to lock the till last night.
verbtransitive
To prepare land for growing crops, especially by plowing.
Grammar: Takes an object: till the soil.
Patterns
- till the soil
- till the land
Farmers till the fields in early spring.
The land had not been tilled for years.
Word forms
| third person singular | tills |
|---|---|
| past tense | tilled |
| past participle | tilled |
| -ing form | tilling |
| plural | tills |
Common combinations
- till then
- I'll be on holiday till then.
- till now
- Till now, I had never seen snow.
- till the last minute
- She put off the decision till the last minute.
- open the till
- The manager had to open the till for a refund.
- till the soil
- They till the soil by hand.
Synonyms and how they differ
- until
- More formal and more common at the start of a sentence; till is more casual and common in speech.
Word family
- tiller noun
- A person or machine that prepares land for crops.
Commonly confused: till or until?
till vs until
Same meaning, but until is preferred in formal writing and at the beginning of sentences.
Practice
Choose the correct word: The shop stays open ___ 10 p.m. on Fridays.
Choose one answer.
Till marks the end point of a period; since marks the start and by means 'not later than', which would change the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “till”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.