cultivate

Everyday

1. To prepare and use land for growing crops: to dig, plant and look after it. tree →
2. To grow plants or crops on purpose. tree →
3. To build up or develop something slowly with care, such as a skill, a habit or a friendship. tree →
4. (science) To grow bacteria or cells in a lab. tree →

In the lessons

In geography and history it is about farming: early people began to cultivate wheat and rice, which let them settle in villages. In science, scientists cultivate bacteria in dishes. In everyday life and stories it means working patiently on something: to cultivate good habits, a garden or a friendship. Phrases: «cultivate the land», «cultivate a friendship», «cultivated fields».

Examples

• Farmers cultivate wheat on the wide plains. tree →
• The first farmers learned to cultivate rice along rivers. tree →
• Grandad cultivates tomatoes in his greenhouse. tree →
• Our class cultivated a vegetable patch behind the school. tree →
• Try to cultivate the habit of reading every night. tree →
• She cultivated a friendship with the new girl next door. tree →
• Scientists cultivate bacteria in small round dishes. tree →
• This land is too rocky to cultivate. tree →
• Long, long ago there lived an old man and his wife who supported themselves by cultivating a small plot of land. tree →

Note

Regular verb. Noun: cultivation. «Cultivated» can also be an adjective: cultivated land (farmed land) or a cultivated person (well educated and polite). Formal-sounding; in everyday talk people say «grow» or «farm».