1
a tiller of [soil/land]
作名词时指耕种者，常与 of the soil/land 连用。
He was a humble tiller of the land.
他是一个朴实的耕种者。
分蘖
tillers — plural of tiller
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
分蘖
a shoot that sprouts from the base of a grass
He was a humble tiller of the land.
他是一个朴实的耕种者。
耕种的人；农民。
A person who tills; a farmer.
从植物根部或原茎底部萌发的枝条；幼树；吸根。
A shoot of a plant which springs from the root or bottom of the original stalk; a sapling; a sucker.
枪托；弩上刻有容纳箭矢的横梁,或长弓的平衡点。
The stock; a beam on a crossbow carved to fit the arrow, or the point of balance in a longbow.
机械翻土的机器。
A machine that mechanically tills the soil.
The sailor gripped the tiller firmly as the wind picked up.
水手在风力增强时紧紧握住舵柄。
He turned the tiller to starboard, and the boat began to change course.
他把舵柄转向右舷，船开始改变航向。
A loose tiller can make a small boat very hard to control.
舵柄松动会让小船很难操控。
作名词时指耕种者，常与 of the soil/land 连用。
He was a humble tiller of the land.
他是一个朴实的耕种者。
此义指小船的舵柄；tiller 前常用 the。
She steered the small boat with the tiller.
她用舵柄操纵小船。
作动词时为不及物动词，主语通常是禾本科植物。
The wheat began to tiller in early spring.
小麦在早春开始分蘖。
Not this
The farmer tillers the field before planting.
Use this
The farmer tills the field before planting.
动词 tiller 的意思是“分蘖”（指禾本科植物从基部生出新枝），不是“耕种”；表示“耕种、翻地”应用动词 till，主语为第三人称单数时用 tills。
Not this
The rice plants are tilling in the paddy.
Use this
The rice plants are tillering in the paddy.
表示水稻等“分蘖”时，动词用 tiller（现在分词 tillering），而 till 的现在分词 tilling 是“耕地、翻土”的意思，不能用来描述植株长出分蘖。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
土地的耕耘者；农夫
The tiller of the soil respects the rhythm of the seasons.
土地的耕耘者尊重四季的节奏。
在掌舵；负责指挥
Who was at the tiller when the accident happened?
事故发生时是谁在掌舵？
接过舵柄；接管指挥
She took the tiller while I lowered the sail.
她接过舵柄，我降下帆。
分蘖数
The new variety has a higher tiller number.
这个新品种的分蘖数更高。
分蘖期
Rice fields are kept flooded during the tillering stage.
稻田在分蘖期保持淹水。
掌舵；掌管
With the new CEO at the tiller, the company has finally become profitable.
在新任首席执行官掌舵下，公司终于开始盈利。
接手管理；开始掌舵
After years of waiting, she finally took the tiller of the family business.
经过多年的等待，她终于接手管理家族企业。
稳健的掌舵者；可靠的管理
The project needs a steady hand on the tiller to succeed.
这个项目需要有一位稳健的掌舵者才能成功。
Use tillers naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想 till（耕种）加 er：农夫是 tiller；同一拼写还指舵柄，像“掌舵耕种”方向；分蘖是从根部长出的新芽。仅助记，非词源。
语域：mixed 常见场景：agriculture / botany、sailing / nautical、historical / literary writing 该词含义分属不同领域，语体随之变化：作“分蘖”（名词/动词）多用于植物学；作“舵柄”多用于航海；作“耕种者”比较常见于文学或历史语境。
动词 tiller 的主语通常为禾本科植物（如水稻、小麦）。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.