Till vs. until: what’s the difference?
The short answer
Until is considered slightly more formal than till. Till is sometimes mistakenly thought of as an abbreviation of until, but it is actually the older word.
What they have in common
Both till and until are conjunctions and prepositions used to indicate the time up to a specific point or event. They can be used interchangeably in most contexts and both are commonly understood.
Examples
till
- She waited till the bus arrived.
- The store is open till midnight.
- Don’t go till I get back.
until
- We can’t start until everyone is here.
- He worked until he was exhausted.
- Wait here until I call you.
Which one is more common?
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