culture

verb

cultured; culturing ˈkəl-chə-riŋ 

ˈkəlch-

transitive verb

1

: cultivate

2

a

: to grow in a prepared medium

culture microorganisms

b

: to start a culture from (see culture entry 1 sense 5)

culture soil

Synonyms of culture

• cultivate
• grow
• promote
• plant

Examples of culture in a Sentence

The virus is cultured in the laboratory from samples of infected tissue.

culture bacteria in laboratory dishes

Recent Examples on the Web

Sarhan and his colleagues cultured live yeast from the samples, but their shotgun metagenomics results also revealed a bunch of short fragments of DNA, most bearing the kind of damage that happens when DNA molecules break down over time. —ArsTechnica, 6 June 2026

Does your company culture rest on all these pillars? —Kapil Jain, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026

Cheaper imitations and modern methods of culturing have considerably diminished the value of natural pearls since then. —Caitlin Kennedy, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2026

In fact, the current ISSCR guidelines (2021) suggest culturing human embryo-like structures for fourteen days after conception, as this would not lead to the development of a potential sentient embryo. —Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 28 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

First Known Use

1510, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing culture

• cancel culture
• co-culture
• culture of success
• culture shock
• Maker culture
• self-culture
• tissue culture

Rhymes for culture

• kultur
• vulture
• agriculture
• apiculture
• aquaculture
• counterculture
• floriculture
• horticulture
• mariculture
• monoculture
• sericulture
• silviculture

Kids Definition

culture

1 of 2 noun

cul·​ture ˈkəl-chər 

1

: cultivation sense 1, tillage

2

: the raising or development of a product or crop by careful attention

bee culture

the culture of grapes

3

: improvement of the mind, tastes, and manners through careful training

4

a

: a particular stage, form, or kind of civilization

ancient Greek culture

b

: the beliefs, social practices, and characteristics of a racial, religious, or social group

c

: the characteristic features of everyday life shared by people in a particular place or time

southern culture

5

: cultivation of living material (as bacteria) in a special usually liquid or jellylike nutrient preparation

also : a product of such cultivation

culture

2 of 2 verb

cultured; culturing ˈkəlch-(ə-)riŋ 

: to grow in a prepared medium

Medical Definition

culture

1 of 2 noun

cul·​ture ˈkəl-chər 

1

a

: the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thought, speech, action, and artifacts and depends upon the human capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations

b

: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group

2

a

: the act or process of growing living material (as bacteria or viruses) in prepared nutrient media

b

: a product of cultivation in nutrient media

cultural

ˈkəlch(-ə)-rəl 

adjective

culturally

-rə-lē 

adverb

culture

2 of 2 transitive verb

cultured; culturing ˈkəlch-(ə-)riŋ 

1

: to grow (as microorganisms or tissues) in a prepared medium

2

: to start a culture from

culture soil

also : to make a culture of

culture milk