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till, 'til, or 'till?
People often ask which is the correct synonym of until, till, ’til, or ’till?
Many assume that till is an abbreviated form of until. In fact, it is a distinct word that existed in English at least a century before until, both as a preposition meaning “to” and as a conjunction meaning “until.” It has seen continuous use in English since the 12th century and is a perfectly legitimate synonym of until.
’Til and ’till are much newer words, having appeared in the language only in the 19th and 20th centuries, respectively. Both are variant spellings of until and till. Writers of usage guides have roundly condemned ’till as a barbarism (apparently because it seems to have added a superfluous L to the end of until). ’Til, for its part, has been deemed inappropriate in formal writing.
In summary, until and till can be used freely and interchangeably, but you will probably want to avoid ’till and use ’til advisedly.
Synonyms
Examples of till in a Sentence
Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 23 Oct. 2024
In Gaza’s south is the governorate of Khan Younis, stretching from its eponymous medieval city, where the citadel wall stands as its historic anchor, to the lush fields that families have tilled for generations.
—Raja Abdulrahim, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Jack McCullough, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
Cars pulled into the city’s last open gas station, its windows covered with plywood and its owner manning the till because his workers didn’t feel safe to coming to work.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 10 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Till.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/till. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
till
1 of 4 preposition or conjunctiontill
2 of 4 verbtill
3 of 4 nountill
4 of 4 nounPreposition or conjunction
Old English til "until"
Verb
Old English tilian "to work (land) by plowing and raising crops"
Noun
origin unknown
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