verb

cultivate

KUHL-tih-vayt/ˈkʌltɪveɪt/

To foster growth through deliberate care.

We cultivate tomatoes in raised beds behind our small house.

Latina gardener carefully cultivates vegetable bed, loosens soil around young plants with hand tool.

Etymology

The original work of preparing land and raising crops became an image for improving something through labor or study. Cultivating a quality means giving its development similarly sustained attention.

In context

Epic Gardening0:08

Beets are thought to have originated in the Mediterranean, and ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks ate them with the Romans apparently being the ones who first thought to cultivate them for that swelling of the root

How to Grow Beets (From Seed To Harvest) 🌱

More examples

Farmers cultivate the soil before planting corn.
Her teacher cultivates her interest in science.
They have cultivated trust by keeping their promises.

Forms

cultivate · cultivates · cultivated · cultivating

cultivation noun — The careful growing or development of something.

Similar words

nurture: Emphasizes supportive care rather than deliberate work toward improvement.
tend: Emphasizes routine care rather than fostering growth or development.
develop: Means bringing something along, without necessarily emphasizing careful attention.