The beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time

• Top Definitions
• Quiz
• Related Content
• More About Culture
• Examples
• British
• Scientific
• Cultural

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

[ kuhl-cher ]

/ ˈkʌl tʃər /

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

noun

the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.

that which is excellent in the arts, manners, etc.

a particular form or stage of civilization, as that of a certain nation or period: Greek culture.

development or improvement of the mind by education or training.

the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular group of people, as a social, ethnic, professional, or age group (usually used in combination): the youth culture; the drug culture.

the shared beliefs, behaviors, or social environment connected with a particular aspect of society: the rape culture on campus; the culture of poverty; a culture of celebrity worship.

the values, typical practices, and goals of a business or other organization, especially a large corporation: Their corporate culture frowns on avoiding risk.

Anthropology. the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another.

Biology.

1. the cultivation of microorganisms, as bacteria, or of tissues, for scientific study, medicinal use, etc.
2. the product or growth resulting from such cultivation.

the act or practice of cultivating the soil; tillage.

the raising of plants or animals, especially with a view to their improvement.

the product or growth resulting from such cultivation.

verb (used with object), cul·tured, cul·tur·ing.

to subject to culture; cultivate.

Biology.

1. to grow (microorganisms, tissues, etc.) in or on a controlled or defined medium.
2. to introduce (living material) into a culture medium.

Origin of culture

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: “tilling, place tilled,” from Anglo-French, Middle French, from Latin cultūra “cultivation, agriculture, tillage, care.” See cult, -ure

synonym study for culture

OTHER WORDS FROM culture

an·ti·cul·ture, nounin·ter·cul·ture, adjectivein·ter·cul·ture, nounmul·ti·cul·ture, noun

non·cul·ture, nounpre·cul·ture, nounsu·per·cul·ture, noun

Words related to culture

ability, art, civilization, experience, fashion, perception, practice, science, skill, development, folklore, habit, knowledge, lifestyle, society, agriculture, accomplishment, address, capacity, class

How to use culture in a sentence

• Plenty of cultures have their own version of rice cakes, but we can partially thank a botanist named Alexander Pierce Anderson for laying the groundwork for the American rice cake as we know it.

• We have a problem with poverty and resources in communities that happen to include a culture of gangs.

• While many brands understandably use a variety of global and local ambassadors, dismissively trading out one’s culture this way is not something I can condone.

• They are distanced from the food and water sources they depend on, and they are part of a culture that sees every problem as capable of being solved by money.

• Fitzgibbons said that drop culture works because people like to buy into the perceived exclusivity and being able to boast that they were one of the few people able to purchase that item.

• Charlie ridiculed my faith and culture and I died defending his right to do so.

• I don't know why or who's doing it, but it's the legacy…and it's a legacy that is so important to the culture.

• A lot of the culture around movies in the sci-fi/fantasy genre is about deconstructing them ad nauseam.

• Whether he gets his full due in popular culture remains to be seen.

• If the oft-talked-about college “hook-up culture” could be embodied by a place, it would be Shooters.

• In Cuba its culture commenced in 1580, and from this and the other islands large quantities were shipped to Europe.

• The culture of expression is a very different thing from the artful imitation of the signs of feeling and purpose.

• Yet a child coming under the humanising influences of culture soon gets far away from the level of the savage.

• Its culture however was looked upon with the same disapproval by Charles II.

• It would be a modest guess that Accadian culture implied a growth of at least ten thousand years.

noun

the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge, which constitute the shared bases of social action

the total range of activities and ideas of a group of people with shared traditions, which are transmitted and reinforced by members of the groupthe Mayan culture

a particular civilization at a particular period

the artistic and social pursuits, expression, and tastes valued by a society or class, as in the arts, manners, dress, etc

the enlightenment or refinement resulting from these pursuits

the attitudes, feelings, values, and behaviour that characterize and inform society as a whole or any social group within ityob culture

the cultivation of plants, esp by scientific methods designed to improve stock or to produce new ones

stockbreedingthe rearing and breeding of animals, esp with a view to improving the strain

the act or practice of tilling or cultivating the soil

biology

1. the experimental growth of microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, in a nutrient substance (culture medium), usually under controlled conditionsSee also culture medium
2. a group of microorganisms grown in this way

verb (tr)

to cultivate (plants or animals)

to grow (microorganisms) in a culture medium

Derived forms of culture

culturist, nouncultureless, adjective

Word Origin for culture

C15: from Old French, from Latin cultūra a cultivating, from colere to till; see cult

Noun

A growth of microorganisms, viruses, or tissue cells in a specially prepared nutrient medium under supervised conditions.

The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. Culture is learned and shared within social groups and is transmitted by nongenetic means.

Verb

To grow microorganisms, viruses, or tissue cells in a nutrient medium.

The sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another. Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, and art, from one generation to the next.