cultivate

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To improve and prepare (land), as by plowing or fertilizing, for raising crops; till.
2. v. To loosen or dig soil around (growing plants).
3. v. To grow or tend (a plant or crop).
4. v. To promote the growth of (a biological culture).
5. v. To nurture; foster. See Synonyms at nurture.
6. v. To form and refine, as by education.
7. v. To seek the acquaintance or goodwill of; make friends with.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To till; prepare for crops; manure, plow, dress, sow, and reap; manage and improve in husbandry: as, to cultivate land; to cultivate a farm.
2. To raise or produce by tillage: as, to cultivate corn or grass.
3. To use a cultivator upon; run a cultivator through: as, to cultivate a field of standing corn. See cultivator .
4. To improve and strengthen by labor or study; promote the development or increase of; cherish; foster: as, to cultivate talents; to cultivate a taste for poetry.
5. To direct special attention to; devote study, labor, or care to; study to understand, derive advantage from, etc.: as, to cultivate literature; to cultivate an acquaintance.
6. To improve; meliorate; correct; civilize.

Wiktionary

1. v. To grow plants, notably crops
2. v. To nurture; to foster; to tend.
3. v. To turn or stir soil in preparation for planting.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To bestow attention, care, and labor upon, with a view to valuable returns; to till; to fertilize.
2. v. To direct special attention to; to devote time and thought to; to foster; to cherish.
3. v. To seek the society of; to court intimacy with.
4. v. To improve by labor, care, or study; to impart culture to; to civilize; to refine.
5. v. To raise or produce by tillage; to care for while growing.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. prepare for crops
2. v. teach or refine to be discriminative in taste or judgment
3. v. foster the growth of
4. v. adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment