till

/tɪl/

//tɪl// prep

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"till" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“till” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,706 in English word frequency and used as a preposition.

#1,706
frequency rank, English
4
letters
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

till vs TL
0% similar
till vs tip
50% similar
till vs Tim
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for till
PropertyValue
Headwordtill
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechPreposition
IPA/tɪl/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,706
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “till” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). till lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for till is 4 letters long, classified as a preposition, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /tɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,706 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for till, with forms such as "itll", "til", and "tlil". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "TL", "tip", "Tim", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English til, from Northern Old English til, from or akin to Old Norse til (“to, till”); both from Proto-Germanic *til (“to, toward”), from Proto-Germanic *tilą (“planned point in time”). Not a contraction of until; rather, until comes from till … The correct English form is till, spelled T-I-L-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
  2. 2
    Before (a certain time or event).
  3. 3
    To, up to (physically).
  4. 4
    To, toward (in attitude).
  5. 5
    So that (something may happen).

Etymology

From Middle English til, from Northern Old English til, from or akin to Old Norse til (“to, till”); both from Proto-Germanic *til (“to, toward”), from Proto-Germanic *tilą (“planned point in time”). Not a contraction of until; rather, until comes from till with the prefix un- (“against; toward; up to”) also found in unto. Cognate with Old Frisian til (“to, till”), Danish til (“to”), Swedish till (“to, till”), Icelandic til (“to, till”). Also related to Old English til (“good”), German Ziel (“goal”), Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌻 (til, “something fitting or suitable”).

This word in other languages

hasta(Español)jusqu'à(Français)bis(Deutsch)até(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: itll,til,tlil,ttill

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of till - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

itll2til1tlil2ttill1
Edit distance from "till"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "till"?
"till" is spelled T-I-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is /tɪl/.
What does "till" mean?
As a preposition, "till" means: Until; to, up to; as late as (a given time).
What words are commonly confused with "till"?
"till" is commonly confused with "TL", "tip", "Tim". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "till"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "till" is /tɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "till"?
From Middle English til, from Northern Old English til, from or akin to Old Norse til (“to, till”); both from Proto-Germanic *til (“to, toward”), from Proto-Germanic *tilą (“planned point in time”). Not a contraction of until; rather, until comes ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “till”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is T-I-L-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /tɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “TL” - see the side-by-side comparison. till vs TL
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list