culture

noun cul·ture \ ˈkəl-chər \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Definition of culture

1 a : the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time

popular culture

Southern culture

b : the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization

a corporate culture focused on the bottom line

c : the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic

studying the effect of computers on print culture

Changing the culture of materialism will take time …
—Peggy O'Mara

d : the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations

2 a : enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training

b : acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities, and broad aspects of science as distinguished from vocational and technical skills

a person of culture

3 : the act or process of cultivating living material (such as bacteria or viruses) in prepared nutrient media; also : a product of such cultivation

4 : cultivation, tillage

We ought to blame the culture, not the soil.
—Alexander Pope

5 : the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education

6 : expert care and training

beauty culture

See culture defined for English-language learners

See culture defined for kids

Examples of culture in a Sentence

In this new view, genes allow the human mind to learn, remember, imitate, imprint language, absorb culture and express instincts. —Matt Ridley, Time, 2 June 2003
Such an explanation seems sensible to a technologically advanced and ruthlessly competitive culture like our own, where anybody who fails to get at least a college degree … risks spending a life busing tables or telemarketing. —Natalie Angier, New York Times, 2 July 2002
There is an Arctic Indian tribe, the Gwich'in—the northernmost Indians in the United States—who base their diet and culture on the caribou. —Jimmy Carter, National Geographic Traveler, October 2001
Underlying the question "Is this as good as it gets?" was a female j'accuse—against a consumer culture where values like caring had been severely discounted. —Susan Faludi, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2001
a study of Greek language and culture
Her art shows the influence of pop culture.
It's important to learn about other cultures.
The company's corporate culture is focused on increasing profits.
an area that has been criticized for its lack of culture

Recent Examples of culture from the Web

In twin federal and state lawsuits seeking money damages, Al Shehadi is alleging torture, a massive management breakdown, and a culture of indifference at Whiting.

— josh kovner, courant.com, "Whiting Abuse Defendants Make Case For Accelerated Rehabilitation," 12 June 2018
Is violence unleashed if a society is flooded with refugees from a foreign religious culture?

— wesley wildman, Smithsonian, "How Computer Scientists Model the Role of Religion in Society," 11 June 2018
The Mesa Police Department must develop a law enforcement culture that meets community and constitutional norms and ensures that police and citizens go home safely after police interactions.

— charlie lapastora, Fox News, "Arizona man who was punched by Mesa Police officers speaks out," 7 June 2018
Voya provides a supportive and collaborative culture that allows employees to take on responsibility and engage colleagues across the firm.

— azcentral, "Top Companies to Work for in Arizona-Medium Companies," 7 June 2018
The Promise program, which deals with misdemeanors such as vandalism, theft or possession of marijuana, has been part of what some critics see as a culture of permissiveness that had allowed the shooter, Nikolas Cruz, to get too many second chances.

— david fleshler, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Stoneman Douglas commission wants more answers on controversial Promise program," 7 June 2018
On the positive side, our culture has become more inclusive and diverse.

— rabbi dan fink, idahostatesman, "As the world changes for better and for worse, its direction is firmly in our hands," 7 June 2018
Folks who hate jam bands might not know it, but that music scene’s lot culture was a big help for craft beer during its infancy.

— nick vadala, Philly.com, "Philly Beer Week: 20 sudsy events to keep you drinking," 31 May 2018
People look to Dear White People as an encyclopedia of our culture.

— candice frederick, Harper's BAZAAR, "Dear White People's Logan Browning Calls #TimesUp on Black Women as Constant Caretakers," 30 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'culture.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of culture

Middle English, cultivated land, cultivation, from Anglo-French, from Latin cultura, from cultus, past participle — see cult

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 4

See Words from the same year

culture Synonyms

Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

fallow, graft, heirloom, loam, potash, soilage, swath, tilth, windfall

culture

verb

Definition of culture

cultured; culturing play \ˈkəlch-riŋ, ˈkəl-chə-\

transitive verb

1 : cultivate

2 a : to grow in a prepared medium

culture microorganisms

b : to start a culture from (see ¹culture 3)

culture soil

See culture defined for English-language learners

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 of culture from the Web

They are being used to tackle the sorts of experiments that people once thought would occur on the ISS, including testing artificial gravity or culturing cells and growing protein crystals.

— konstantin kakaes, Vox, "NASA’s leader wants to privatize the International Space Station. It’s a remarkably terrible idea.," 8 June 2018
The company cultures cord-blood stem cells in nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, for three weeks before transplant.

— ron winslow, WSJ, "New Promise for Bone-Marrow Transplants," 28 May 2018
While its lenses were not necessarily more reliable than instruments produced by competitors in England and France, Zeiss’s advertising cultured a belief in the value of standardization for lens quality.

— allain daigle, The Atlantic, "How the 50-mm Lens Became ‘Normal’," 13 May 2018
Samples are cultured from the swabs taken from the patients' penises.

— sophie cousins, CNN, "Wherever you are in the world, time is running out for treating gonorrhea," 15 May 2018
Pluripotent stem cells are cultured under conditions that promote formation of specific cell types.

— diana gitig, Ars Technica, "Human brain cells can make complex structures in a dish—is this a problem?," 28 Apr. 2018
Collect a sample from the turf in six or seven weeks and send it to the Texas Plant Clinic at Texas A&M and ask them to culture it for any type of fatal fungus.

— neil sperry, San Antonio Express-News, "Too-pruned vitex is going to look pretty funny," 27 Apr. 2018
These are foods made like sauerkraut: submerged in brine and left to be cultured by good bacteria that break down starches and sugar and turn them sour.

— polly campbell, Cincinnati.com, "Pickled Pig to open deli in Walnut Hills," 17 Apr. 2018
Maybe not, but that early interest cultured into a comprehensive knowledge of cheese and the cheese-making process.

— CBS News, "Crowning the Big Cheese at the Cheesemonger Invitational," 22 Apr. 2018

Origin and Etymology of culture

see ¹culture

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1510

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

culture Synonyms

Synonyms

crop, cultivate, dress, grow, promote, raise, rear, tend;

Near Antonyms

kill;

dig, extirpate, pick, pluck, pull (up), uproot;

cut, hay, mow;

Related Words

breed, produce, propagate;

plant, sow;

gather, glean, harvest, reap;

germinate, quicken, ripen, root, sprout;

Other Biology Terms

autochthonous, fecund, homunculus, phylogeny, substrate

CULTURE Defined for English Language Learners

culture

noun

Definition of culture for English Language Learners

: the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time
: a particular society that has its own beliefs, ways of life, art, etc.
: a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in a place or organization (such as a business)

culture

verb

Definition of culture for English Language Learners

: to grow (something) in controlled conditions

CULTURE Defined for Kids

culture

noun cul·ture \ ˈkəl-chər \

Definition of culture for Students

1 : cultivation 1

2 : the raising or development (as of a crop or product) by careful attention

grape culture

3 : the appreciation and knowledge of the arts (as music, dance, and painting)

4 : the habits, beliefs, and traditions of a particular people, place, or time

Greek culture

Medical Dictionary

culture

noun cul·ture \ ˈkəl-chər \

medical Definition of culture

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

—