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View synonyms for custom

custom

[ kuhs-tuhm ]

noun

  1. a habitual practice; the usual way of acting in given circumstances.
  2. habits or usages collectively; convention.
  3. a practice so long established that it has the force of law.
  4. such practices collectively.
  5. Sociology. a group pattern of habitual activity usually transmitted from one generation to another.
  6. toll; duty.
  7. customs,
    1. (used with a singular or plural verb) duties imposed by law on imported or, less commonly, exported goods.
    2. (used with a singular verb) the government department that collects these duties.
    3. (used with a singular verb) the section of an airport, station, etc., where baggage is checked for contraband and for goods subject to duty.
  8. regular patronage of a particular shop, restaurant, etc.
  9. the customers or patrons of a business firm, collectively.
  10. the aggregate of customers.
  11. (in medieval Europe) a customary tax, tribute, or service owed by peasants to their lord.


adjective

  1. made specially for individual customers:

    custom shoes.

  2. dealing in things so made, or doing work to order:

    a custom tailor.

custom

/ ˈkʌstəm /

noun

  1. a usual or habitual practice; typical mode of behaviour
  2. the long-established habits or traditions of a society collectively; convention

    custom dictates good manners

    1. a practice which by long-established usage has come to have the force of law
    2. such practices collectively (esp in the phrase custom and practice )
  3. habitual patronage, esp of a shop or business
  4. the customers of a shop or business collectively
  5. (in feudal Europe) a tribute paid by a vassal to his lord


adjective

  1. made to the specifications of an individual customer (often in the combinations custom-built , custom-made )
  2. specializing in goods so made

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Word History and Origins

Origin of custom1

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English custume, from Anglo-French; Old French costume, from Vulgar Latin co(n)s(uē)tūmin- (unrecorded), replacing Latin consuētūdin-, stem of consuētūdō “habit, practice, tradition,” from consuē(tus) “accustomed” (past participle of consuēscere “to accustom onself,” from con- con- + suēscere “to become accustomed,” akin to suus “one's own”) + -tūdō -tude; costume

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Word History and Origins

Origin of custom1

C12: from Old French costume, from Latin consuētūdō, from consuēscere to grow accustomed to, from suēscere to be used to

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Synonym Study

Custom, habit, practice mean an established way of doing things. Custom, applied to a community or to an individual, implies a more or less permanent continuance of a social usage: It is the custom to give gifts at Christmas time. Habit, applied particularly to an individual, implies such repetition of the same action as to develop a natural, spontaneous, or rooted tendency or inclination to perform it: to make a habit of reading the newspapers. Practice applies to a set of fixed habits or an ordered procedure in conducting activities: It is his practice to verify all statements.

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Example Sentences

Through his company, consumers will be able to cheaply make custom DNA strands, including what Heinz calls “creatures.”

I spent half an hour measuring all around the president to get the 27 precise measurements I needed to craft a true custom suit.

He later told CNN that eating cat was a pre-war custom across Italy.

He slept in an upright position in a custom armchair, so the reasons for his lying down to sleep are open to speculation.

Fly a Union flag when custom dictates it should be the Royal Standard?

When his lordship retired early, as was his custom, the other men adjourned once more to the billiard-room.

When Cortez made conquest of Mexico in 1519 smoking seemed to be a common as well as an ancient custom among the natives.

But for the most part even industry and endowment were powerless against the inertia of custom and the dead-weight of environment.

In 1634 he also prohibited the landing of tobacco any where except at the quay near the custom house in London.

It has long been the custom for advertisers in the continental journals to typify their wares.

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custodycustomable