culture

noun

cul·ture | \ ˈkəl-chər

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

verb

cultured; culturing\ ˈkəlch-riŋ

, ˈkəl-chə- \

Definition of culture (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

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

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing culture Learn More About culture

Examples of culture in a Sentence

Noun 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 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 Verb The virus is cultured in the laboratory from samples of infected tissue. culture bacteria in laboratory dishes See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Rose Minutaglio Staff Writer Rose is a Staff Writer at ELLE covering culture, news, and women's issues. — Rose Minutaglio, ELLE, 19 May 2022 Lane, who is white, was convicted along with Kueng and Thao of federal charges in February, after a monthlong trial that focused on the officers’ training and the culture of the police department. — Amy Forliti And Steve Karnowski, USA TODAY, 18 May 2022 Lane was convicted along with Kueng and Thao of federal charges in February, after a monthlong trial that focused on the officers’ training and the culture of the police department. — Amy Forliti, Chicago Tribune, 18 May 2022 At my company, TimeXtender, company mindfulness is something that has been an integral part of our DNA and corporate culture for years. — Anne Iversen, Forbes, 18 May 2022 Lane, Kueng and Thao were convicted of federal charges in February, after a monthlong trial that focused on the officers’ training and the culture of the police department. — Steve Karnowski, BostonGlobe.com, 18 May 2022 Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicle's culture critic and co-founder of Total SF. — Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 May 2022 Netflix has been discussing these culture issues internally for 18 months, a company spokesman said. — Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2022 The changes wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic to business culture in the United States are still being understood, but within those changes are opportunities for Birmingham. — William Thornton | Wthornton@al.com, al, 17 May 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Striking Yuri Gagarin from the Space Foundation’s fundraiser is idiocy, and a direct result of a twitchy, cowardly culture that topples statues and erases dead authors for their failure to align precisely with the mores of the moment. — James Lileks, National Review, 31 Mar. 2022 What New York brings is access—to finance, to tech, and to culture—that no other city can offer, Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Ali Yahya tells Fortune. — Declan Harty, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2022 But in France, unlike Germany, environmental politics championed by the center left took a back seat to culture warring over immigration and national identity. — Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2022 Narooma, New South Wales Between its idyllic turquoise inlet, fresh local oysters, and proximity to wildlife- and culture-rich Montague Island Nature Reserve, Narooma already has plenty of visitor appeal. — Sarah Reid, Travel + Leisure, 5 Apr. 2022 That the internet, and perhaps culture as a whole, exist for fleeting amusement seems to be a self-evident fact for her. — New York Times, 14 Mar. 2022 Researchers are learning to culture organoids in blood, or in tandem with immune cells. — Max G. Levy, Wired, 9 Mar. 2022 To be fully effective, data architecture should support the needs of every facet of an organization—from R&D to marketing to culture. — Emanuel Younanzadeh, Forbes, 13 Apr. 2022 But other researchers were able to culture live virus from people with high Ct values, which is considered proof that those people were infectious. — Rae Ellen Bichell, Men's Health, 8 Mar. 2022 See More

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.

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Dictionary Entries Near culture

culturati

culture

culture and personality

Statistics for culture

Last Updated

21 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Culture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture. Accessed 25 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for culture

culture

noun

cul·ture | \ ˈkəl-chər

Kids Definition of culture

1 : cultivation sense 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

culture

noun

cul·ture | \ ˈkəl-chər

Medical Definition of culture

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : 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

2a : the act or process of growing living material (as bacteria or viruses) in prepared nutrient media

b : a product of cultivation in nutrient media

Other Words from culture

cultural \ ˈkəlch(-ə)-rəl

\ adjective

culturally \ -rə-lē

\ adverb

culture

transitive verb

cultured; culturing\ ˈkəlch-(ə-)riŋ

Medical Definition of culture (Entry 2 of 2)