cultivate

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cul·ti·vate

(kŭl′tə-vāt′)

tr.v. cul·ti·vat·ed, cul·ti·vat·ing, cul·ti·vates

a. To improve and prepare (land), as by plowing or fertilizing, for raising crops; till.

b. To loosen or dig soil around (growing plants).

2. To grow or tend (a plant or crop).

3. To promote the growth of (a biological culture).

4. To encourage or foster: cultivate a respect for the law. See Synonyms at nurture.

5. To acquire, develop, or refine, as by education: cultivating a posh accent.

6. To seek the acquaintance or goodwill of; make friends with: cultivated the club's new members.

[Medieval Latin cultīvāre, cultīvāt-, from cultīvus, tilled, from Latin cultus, past participle of colere, to till; see k^wel- in Indo-European roots.]

cul′ti·vat′a·ble adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cultivate

(ˈkʌltɪˌveɪt)

vb (tr)

1. (Agriculture) to till and prepare (land or soil) for the growth of crops

2. (Agriculture) to plant, tend, harvest, or improve (plants) by labour and skill

3. (Agriculture) to break up (land or soil) with a cultivator or hoe

4. to improve or foster (the mind, body, etc) as by study, education, or labour

5. to give special attention to: to cultivate a friendship; to cultivate a hobby.

6. to give or bring culture to (a person, society, etc); civilize

7. (Biology) biology to grow cells, bacteria, etc in a culture

[C17: from Medieval Latin cultivāre to till, from Old French cultiver, from Medieval Latin cultīvus cultivable, from Latin cultus cultivated, from colere to till, toil over]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cul•ti•vate

(ˈkʌl təˌveɪt)

v.t. -vat•ed, -vat•ing.

1. to prepare and work on (land) in order to raise crops; till.

2. to use a cultivator on.

3. to promote or improve the growth of (a plant or crop) by labor and attention.

4. to produce by culture: to cultivate a strain of bacteria.

5. to develop or improve by education or training: to cultivate a talent.

6. to promote the growth or development of (an art, science, etc.).

7. to devote oneself to (an art, science, etc.).

8. to seek to promote or foster (friendship, love, etc.).

9. to seek the acquaintance or friendship of (a person).

[1610–20; < Medieval Latin cultīvātus, past participle of cultīvāre to till, derivative of cultīvus cultivable (Latin cult(us), past participle of colere to care for, till + -īvus -ive)]

cultivate

Past participle: cultivated
Gerund: cultivating

Imperative
cultivate
cultivate

Present
I cultivate
you cultivate
he/she/it cultivates
we cultivate
you cultivate
they cultivate

Preterite
I cultivated
you cultivated
he/she/it cultivated
we cultivated
you cultivated
they cultivated

Present Continuous
I am cultivating
you are cultivating
he/she/it is cultivating
we are cultivating
you are cultivating
they are cultivating

Present Perfect
I have cultivated
you have cultivated
he/she/it has cultivated
we have cultivated
you have cultivated
they have cultivated

Past Continuous
I was cultivating
you were cultivating
he/she/it was cultivating
we were cultivating
you were cultivating
they were cultivating

Past Perfect
I had cultivated
you had cultivated
he/she/it had cultivated
we had cultivated
you had cultivated
they had cultivated

Future
I will cultivate
you will cultivate
he/she/it will cultivate
we will cultivate
you will cultivate
they will cultivate

Future Perfect
I will have cultivated
you will have cultivated
he/she/it will have cultivated
we will have cultivated
you will have cultivated
they will have cultivated

Future Continuous
I will be cultivating
you will be cultivating
he/she/it will be cultivating
we will be cultivating
you will be cultivating
they will be cultivating

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been cultivating
you have been cultivating
he/she/it has been cultivating
we have been cultivating
you have been cultivating
they have been cultivating

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been cultivating
you will have been cultivating
he/she/it will have been cultivating
we will have been cultivating
you will have been cultivating
they will have been cultivating

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been cultivating
you had been cultivating
he/she/it had been cultivating
we had been cultivating
you had been cultivating
they had been cultivating

Conditional
I would cultivate
you would cultivate
he/she/it would cultivate
we would cultivate
you would cultivate
they would cultivate

Past Conditional
I would have cultivated
you would have cultivated
he/she/it would have cultivated
we would have cultivated
you would have cultivated
they would have cultivated

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	cultivate - foster the growth of farming, husbandry, agriculture - the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock farm, produce, raise, grow - cultivate by growing, often involving improvements by means of agricultural techniques; "The Bordeaux region produces great red wines"; "They produce good ham in Parma"; "We grow wheat here"; "We raise hogs here"
	2.	cultivate - prepare for crops; "Work the soil"; "cultivate the land" crop, work farming, husbandry, agriculture - the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock gear up, prepare, ready, set, fix, set up - make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc; "Get the children ready for school!"; "prepare for war"; "I was fixing to leave town after I paid the hotel bill" knead, work - make uniform; "knead dough"; "work the clay until it is soft" overcrop, overcultivate - to exhaust by excessive cultivation; "the farmers overcropped the land"
	3.	cultivate - teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment; "Cultivate your musical taste"; "Train your tastebuds"; "She is well schooled in poetry" civilise, civilize, school, educate, train fine-tune, refine, polish, down - improve or perfect by pruning or polishing; "refine one's style of writing" sophisticate - make less natural or innocent; "Their manners had sophisticated the young girls"
	4.	cultivate - adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment; "domesticate oats"; "tame the soil" domesticate, tame, naturalise, naturalize plant life, flora, plant - (botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion adapt, accommodate - make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose; "Adapt our native cuisine to the available food resources of the new country"

cultivate

verb

1. farm, work, plant, tend, till, harvest, plough, bring under cultivation She cultivated a small garden of her own.

2. develop, establish, acquire, foster, devote yourself to, pursue Try to cultivate a positive mental attitude.

3. court, associate with, seek out, run after, consort with, butter up, dance attendance upon, seek someone's company or friendship, take trouble or pains with He only cultivates people who may be of use to him.

4. foster, further, forward, encourage She went out of her way to cultivate his friendship.

5. improve, better, train, discipline, polish, refine, elevate, enrich, civilize My father encouraged me to cultivate my mind.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

cultivate

verb

1. To prepare (soil) for the planting and raising of crops:

culture, dress, tend, till, work.

2. To bring into existence and foster the development of:

breed, grow, propagate, raise.

3. To promote and sustain the development of:

foster, nourish, nurse, nurture.

Translations

يَزرَع، يُرَبّييَفْلَح، يَحْرُث الأرض

obdělávat půdupěstovat

dyrkekultivereudvikle

anbauen bebauen bestellen kultivieren pflegen

καλλιεργώ

cultivar

herättääviljellä

cultiver forcer

brjóta land til ræktunarrækta

coltivare coltivatore coltivazione curare educare

apdirbimasauginimasdirbamasdirbimasdirbti

audzētkultivēt

telen verbouwen

kultivere

gojitiobdelovati

tarlayı sürüp ekmeküretmek yetiştirmek

栽培耕作

cultivate

[ˈkʌltɪveɪt] VT

1. [+ crop, land, friendships] → cultivar

2. (fig) [+ habit] → cultivar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

cultivate

[ˈkʌltɪveɪt] vt

[+ ground, fields] → cultiver; [+ plants, crops] → cultiver

(= develop) [+ one's image] → cultiver; [+ one's reputation] → entretenir, cultiver; [+ friendship, relationship] → cultiver; [+ person] → cultiver; [+ habit, sense of humour, talent] → cultiver

cultivate

(lit) → kultivieren; soil → bebauen, kultivieren; crop, fruit etc → anbauen; beard → wachsen lassen

(fig) friendship, links etc → pflegen, kultivieren; art, skill, taste → entwickeln; sb → sich (dat) → warmhalten (inf), → die Beziehung zu … pflegen; a connection like that is definitely worth cultivating → es lohnt sich bestimmt, so eine Verbindung aufrechtzuerhalten; to cultivate one’s mind → sich bilden

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

cultivate

[ˈkʌltɪˌveɪt] vt (also) (fig) → coltivare

cultivate

(ˈkaltiveit) verb

1. to prepare (land) for crops.

2. to grow (a crop in a garden, field etc). He cultivates mushrooms in the cellar.

ˈcultivated adjective

1. (of fields etc) prepared for crops; used for growing crops. cultivated land.

2. grown in a garden etc; not wild. a cultivated variety of raspberries.

3. having good manners; educated. a cultivated young lady; He has cultivated tastes in music.

ˌcultiˈvation noun

ˈcultivator noun

a tool or machine for breaking up ground and removing weeds.

cultivate

vt. cultivar; estudiar.

References in classic literature ?

Nevertheless, as our varieties certainly do occasionally revert in some of their characters to ancestral forms, it seems to me not improbable, that if we could succeed in naturalising, or were to cultivate, during many generations, the several races, for instance, of the cabbage, in very poor soil (in which case, however, some effect would have to be attributed to the direct action of the poor soil), that they would to a large extent, or even wholly, revert to the wild aboriginal stock.

View in context

A Fox, seeing this, exclaimed, "Do not cultivate the favor of this man, but of your former owner, lest he should again hunt for you and deprive you a second time of your wings."

View in context

The field of human sympathy, out of which I might have raised the needful pecuniary crop, is closed to me from want of time to cultivate it.

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"I don't know whether you cultivate the arts of peace or your flag is flung to the battle and the breeze and your voice is for war.

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A few farmers settled among them might lead them, Captain Bonneville thinks, to till the earth and cultivate grain; the country of the Skynses and Nez Perces is admirably adapted for the raising of cattle.

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We hear enough, and more than enough, of persons who successfully cultivate the Arts--of the remarkable manner in which fitness for their vocation shows itself in early life, of the obstacles which family prejudice places in their way, and of the unremitting devotion which has led to the achievement of glorious results.

But how many writers have noticed those other incomprehensible persons, members of families innocent for generations past of practicing Art or caring for Art, who have notwithstanding displayed from their earliest years the irresistible desire to cultivate poetry, painting, or music; who have surmounted obstacles, and endured disappointments, in the single-hearted resolution to devote their lives to an intellectual pursuit--being absolutely without the capacity which proves the vocation, and justifies the sacrifice.

View in context

He thought that the Russian people whose task it was to colonize and cultivate vast tracts of unoccupied land, consciously adhered, till all their land was occupied, to the methods suitable to their purpose, and that their methods were by no means so bad as was generally supposed.

View in context

I hastened to cultivate the weeds which grew among the melon-vines.

View in context

"It would be if you'd only cultivate it," said Anne cheeringly.

View in context

The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.

View in context

The division, represented by the region's planning, community relations, parks and entertainment facilities administration, recently implemented numerous initiatives, including the distribution of 1,000 ghaf seedlings during the Liwa Dates Festival, to encourage local people to cultivate indigenous plants.