Definition of custom
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: a usage or practice common to many or to a particular place or class or habitual with an individual
It is the custom in New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras. funeral customs
b
: long-established practice considered as unwritten law
c
: repeated practice
Custom makes all things easy.
d
: the whole body of usages, practices, or conventions that regulate social life
… family, kinship, and custom constituted the grounds of community.— V. B. Leitch
2
customs plural
a
: duties, tolls, or imposts imposed by the sovereign law of a country on imports or exports
b
usually singular in construction
: the agency, establishment, or procedure for collecting such customs
went through customs at the airport without any difficulty
3a
: business patronage (see patronage sense 4)
b
: usually habitual patrons : customers
custom
adjectiveDefinition of custom (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: made or performed according to personal order
2
: specializing in custom work or operation
a custom tailor
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for custom
The first known use of custom was in the 13th century
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