custom

noun

cus·tom | \ ˈkə-stəm

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

adjective

Definition of custom (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : made or performed according to personal order

2 : specializing in custom work or operation a custom tailor

Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about custom

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Choose the Right Synonym for custom

Noun

habit, practice, usage, custom, wont mean a way of acting fixed through repetition. habit implies a doing unconsciously and often compulsively. had a habit of tapping his fingers practice suggests an act or method followed with regularity and usually through choice. our practice is to honor all major credit cards usage suggests a customary action so generally followed that it has become a social norm. western-style dress is now common usage in international business custom applies to a practice or usage so steadily associated with an individual or group as to have almost the force of unwritten law. the custom of wearing black at funerals wont usually applies to a habitual manner, method, or practice of an individual or group. as was her wont, she slept until noon

Examples of custom in a Sentence

Noun

It is the custom for the bride to wear a white dress on her wedding day. According to custom, the festivities begin at dusk. It's a matter of custom. We went through customs at the airport without any difficulty. It took us a long time to clear customs at the border.

Adjective

The new kitchen will have custom cabinets. that business tycoon wears only custom suits

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The Erdem look was custom, based on a piece from the designer's fall 2019 runway collection. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "Meghan Markle Steps Out in a Sequined Erdem Coat During a Commonwealth Day Engagement," 11 Mar. 2019 Tonight, while presenting the Best Actress Oscar to Olivia Coleman, the actress took to the stage wearing a pair of custom yellow Birkenstocks underneath her pink Valentino Spring 2019 Couture gown. — Brooke Bobb, Vogue, "Frances McDormand Wears Custom Birkenstocks on Stage at The Oscars," 25 Feb. 2019 The company also incorporated its Spark AR platform into each device so users can video chat with custom sound and visual effects (a Snapchat-esque feature dubbed Story Time). — Valentina Palladino, Ars Technica, "Facebook unveils smart displays, promises not to snoop on your video calls," 8 Oct. 2018 An inversion of that history, in which Americans practice aikido or grow fluent in Japanese social customs in order to get by, is fascinating to watch the show parse. — Karen Han, Vox, "The Man in the High Castle season 3 has too many characters, too little time," 6 Oct. 2018 The expectant mom arrived with her family and looked radiant in a light blue custom dress by Alessandra Rich. — Erin Hill, PEOPLE.com, "Pregnant Pippa Middleton (in Baby Blue!) Arrives at Her Nephew Prince Louis' Christening," 9 July 2018 The wall paint is custom, and the balcony screens are wooden moucharaby painted in black enamel. — Gisela Williams, ELLE Decor, "The Vivacious 18th-Century Marakesh Medina of Two L.A. Transplants," 28 Dec. 2018 Harry Styles is showing off his style around the world, wearing colorful custom Calvin Klein suits everywhere from Atlanta to Stockholm to Sydney. — Lindsay Weinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, "Harry Styles Wears Custom Calvin Klein 205W39NYC For World Tour," 26 June 2018 Those who've already invested in an expensive setup or custom-built their own don't need to change anything except the central hub. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "Hands-on: How Microsoft's Xbox Adaptive Controller lets gamers with disabilities play," 14 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

It's all done on custom silicon designed within Apple—a different approach than that taken by any mainstream Android or Windows device. — Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, "Apple walks Ars through the iPad Pro’s A12X system on a chip," 7 Nov. 2018 The drawer fronts of the SEKTION kitchen range can be combined in nine different ways to create a completely custom style. — Jessica Dailey, Good Housekeeping, "Doors and Drawers," 11 Feb. 2019 Currently that cost is extraordinary, MIT writes, due to inexperience, extremely custom plant designs, regulatory issues, and financing issues. — Megan Geuss, Ars Technica, "Mapping what it would take for a renaissance for nuclear energy," 7 Sep. 2018 To facilitate their research, biologists regularly order short, custom pieces of DNA from companies that specialize in their manufacture. — R. Daniel Bressler, Vox, "“Designer bugs”: how the next pandemic might come from a lab," 6 Dec. 2018 In the backyard, Arne Jacobsen wicker chairs from Sika Design and a side table from JF Chen; custom fireplace screen, Studio Forge. — Jenni Konner, ELLE Decor, "Jewelry Designer Irene Neuwirth Takes Us Inside Her Eclectic Los Angeles Home," 13 July 2018 AUTO Show off your classic, antique or custom car at On the Edge Bar and Grill, 6815 W. Edgerton Ave. — Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "21 Things-to-do in the southwest suburbs in July," 29 June 2018 The kitchen is equipped with a custom steel island on casters, made by Michael Daniel Metal Design, so it can be rolled out to the deck and used as a buffet for outdoor dinners. — Tim Mckeough, New York Times, "A Shipshape House in the Hamptons," 19 June 2018 For YouTube creators, catching the eyes of potential new viewers starts with a good, custom thumbnail. — Megan Farokhmanesh, The Verge, "YouTube kills some creators’ custom-made thumbnail images in latest experiment," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'custom.' 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 custom

Statistics for custom

Last Updated

19 Mar 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for custom

The first known use of custom was in the 13th century

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More Definitions for custom

custom

noun

English Language Learners Definition of custom

(Entry 1 of 2)

: an action or way of behaving that is usual and traditional among the people in a particular group or place

: something that is done regularly by a person

: taxes or fees that are paid to the government when goods come into or go out of a country

custom

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of custom (Entry 2 of 2)

chiefly US

: made to fit the needs or requirements of a particular person

: doing work that fits the needs or requirements of a particular person

See the full definition for custom in the English Language Learners Dictionary

custom

noun

cus·tom | \ ˈkə-stəm

Kids Definition of custom

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the usual way of doing things : the usual practice

2 customs plural : duties or taxes paid on imports or exports

3 : support given to a business by its customers Buyers grew tired of waiting … and … took their custom elsewhere.— Linda Sue Park, A Single Shard

custom

adjective

Kids Definition of custom (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : made or done to personal order custom furniture

2 : specializing in work done to personal order a custom printer

custom

noun

cus·tom

Legal Definition of custom

1 : a practice common to many or to a particular place or institution especially : a long-established practice that is generally recognized as having the force of law — see also section 1983 — compare usage

2 plural

a : duties, tolls, or imposts imposed by the law of a country on imports or exports

b usually singular in construction : the agency, establishment, or procedure for collecting such customs