Cultivate \Cul"ti*vate\ (k?l"t?-v?t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Cultivated (-v?`t?d); p. pr. & vb. n. Cultivating (-v?`-t?ng).]

[LL. cultivatus, p. p. of cultivare to cultivate, fr. cultivus cultivated, fr. L. cultus, p. p. of colere to till, cultivate. Cf. Colony.]

1. To bestow attention, care, and labor upon, with a view to valuable returns; to till; to fertilize; as, to cultivate soil.

2. To direct special attention to; to devote time and thought to; to foster; to cherish.

Leisure . . . to cultivate general literature. --Wordsworth.

3. To seek the society of; to court intimacy with.

I ever looked on Lord Keppel as one of the greatest and best men of his age; and I loved and cultivated him accordingly. --Burke.

4. To improve by labor, care, or study; to impart culture to; to civilize; to refine.

To cultivate the wild, licentious savage. --Addison.

The mind of man hath need to be prepared for piety and virtue; it must be cultivated to the end. --Tillotson.

5. To raise or produce by tillage; to care for while growing; as, to cultivate corn or grass.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)