Definition of culture
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: 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
2a
: 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
culture
verbDefinition of culture (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: cultivate
2a
: to grow in a prepared medium
culture microorganisms
b
: to start a culture from (see culture entry 1 sense 3)
culture soil
Buying Guide
Check out the best educational products selected by our Reviews team.
Test Your Vocabulary
Name That Food
-
- Name these cookies!

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share culture
Time Traveler for culture
The first known use of culture was in the 15th century
See more words from the same century