till

The word “till” means up to the time of; until. In plain terms, meaning "until" in time expressions, or a shop's cash register, or to plough and prepare soil — depending on context.

“Till” is pronounced tihl (/tɪl/ in IPA).

Here is “till” used in a sentence: “The shop is open till nine tonight.”

Words with a similar meaning to “till” include River Till.

Depending on how it is used, “till” can be a preposition, a noun and a verb.

The word “till” comes from Old English. From Old English til, related to Old Norse til, both from a Germanic root meaning "toward" or "up to a point." It is not a shortened form of "until" — in fact "until" was built from "till.".

“Till” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Till” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: up to the time of; until.

They mean exactly the same thing and are both fully correct. 'Till' is actually the older word; 'until' was formed later by adding a prefix. 'Until' feels slightly more formal and is often preferred at the start of a sentence, while 'till' is common in everyday speech and writing.

'Till' is the standard, long-established word and is always safe to use. ''Til' is an informal shortening of 'until,' based on the mistaken belief that 'till' is a clipped form. In careful writing, prefer 'till' or 'until'; save ''til' for casual or stylistic contexts.

You can, but 'until' is usually the smoother choice at the beginning of a sentence, as in 'Until we meet again.' 'Till' works better mid-sentence: 'Wait till you see this.' Both are grammatically fine, so the decision comes down to tone and rhythm rather than a firm rule.

Yes. Besides meaning 'up to the time of,' 'till' is a noun for a cash drawer or register in a shop, and a verb meaning to prepare and cultivate land for crops. These are unrelated words that happen to share the same spelling.