cultivator

plural cultivators

1. Any of several devices used to loosen or stir the soil, either to remove weeds or to provide aeration and drainage.

   As the crop gets bigger, the shank spacing on the cultivator will need to be adjusted accordingly.

   1 more example

   Near-synonyms: scarifier, scuffler (not always precisely differentiated; dialectal usage has varied)

   Synonyms: grubber, scarifier, scuffler

2. A person who cultivates.
   1. Someone who uses a cultivator (implement, device, or machine).

      The cultivators were out among the row crops, keeping the weeds in check.

   2. Someone who grows plants.

      Near-synonyms: grower, planter, farmer

      2 more examples

      She was a devoted cultivator of roses and orchids.

      Consider now the cultivators’ perspective. The dilemma facing them is presented statistically in Table III.1 which shows the relationship between the rural population and land use in Bastar from 1931 to 1991. During this period the population trebled while the area under cultivation increased by only 80%. The period from 1931 to 1951 was a period of relative land surplus. As the population increased, the forest land was encroached upon. The period from 1951, by way of contrast, was one of relative land scarcity. Encroachable forest land became scarcer and the farm holdings per household became smaller as more people were forced to live on the same area of land.

      2005, C. A. Gregory, “Chapter III: Land as the supreme good”, in Savage Money: The Anthropology and Politics of Commodity Exchange, Taylor and Francis, →ISBN, page 95

      Synonyms: grower, planter, farmer

   3. figurativelySomeone who fosters something besides plants (such as human development or relationships).

      She was a wonderful cultivator of potential in her direct reports.