Library / English Dictionary

TILLER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A farm implement used to break up the surface of the soil (for aeration and weed control and conservation of moisture)

Synonyms:

cultivator; tiller

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("tiller" is a kind of...):

farm machine (a machine used in farming)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tiller"):

harrow (a cultivator that pulverizes or smooths the soil)

Derivation:

till (work land as by ploughing, harrowing, and manuring, in order to make it ready for cultivation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Lever used to turn the rudder on a boat

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("tiller" is a kind of...):

lever (a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum)

Holonyms ("tiller" is a part of...):

rudder ((nautical) steering mechanism consisting of a hinged vertical plate mounted at the stern of a vessel)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Someone who tills land (prepares the soil for the planting of crops)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("tiller" is a kind of...):

farmer; granger; husbandman; sodbuster (a person who operates a farm)

Derivation:

till (work land as by ploughing, harrowing, and manuring, in order to make it ready for cultivation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A shoot that sprouts from the base of a grass

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("tiller" is a kind of...):

shoot (a new branch)

Derivation:

tiller (grow shoots in the form of stools or tillers)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Grow shoots in the form of stools or tillers

Synonyms:

stool; tiller

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "tiller" is one way to...):

acquire; develop; get; grow; produce (come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes))

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

tiller (a shoot that sprouts from the base of a grass)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Alleyne stood by the tiller, looking backwards, the fresh wind full in his teeth, the crisp winter air tingling on his face and blowing his yellow curls from under his bassinet.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Hawtayne bent his weight upon the tiller, and crouched to see under the bellying sail.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Their leader, Goodwin Hawtayne, stood upon the poop and talked with Sir Nigel, casting his eye up sometimes at the swelling sail, and then glancing back at the two seamen who held the tiller.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)