custom
noun
\
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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Synonyms & Antonyms for custom
Synonyms: Noun
fashion, habit, habitude, pattern, practice (also practise), ritual, second nature, trick, way, wont
Synonyms: Adjective
bespoke (also bespoken), custom-made, custom-tailored, customized, made-to-order, tailor-made, tailored
Antonyms: Adjective
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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 most stressful part was waiting for delivery because Polish customs officials are checking packages like this. — Josephine Sedgwick, New York Times, "‘I Couldn’t Tell Anyone’: Women Around the World Reveal Intimate Stories of Abortion," 9 July 2018 In his quest to build a grass-roots brand upon dusty far-flung pitches from Western Sahara to Eritrea, Mr. Westcott has dealt with soccer-loving armed rebels, Ebola scares and customs officials coveting his gear at the border. — Rob Taylor, WSJ, "How to Use the World Cup to Build a World-Class Sports Apparel Brand From Scratch," 7 July 2018 Nationally, nearly 1,000 pounds of fentanyl had been seized by customs officials in the first four months of 2018, the agency reported, up from 440 pounds in all of 2016. — Chris Palmer, Philly.com, "Feds say 110 pounds of fentanyl valued at $1.7M seized in Philly," 2 July 2018 Once the difficult conversations were out of the way, Khloe enjoyed a typically swanky celebration with younger siblings Kendall and Kylie Jenner, as well as Kim and daughter North West, who both gifted her a custom, dollar print Balenciaga bag. — Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, "Kim Kardashian Forced Tristan Thompson to Un-Block Her on Instagram," 28 June 2018 To continue reading this story, TRY IT NOW Print subscribers get a password for your existing account here Multiple families said customs officials told them the centers were full and there was a backlog in processing. — Silvia Foster-frau, San Antonio Express-News, "Asylum seekers denied legal entry into U.S. are camping out on bridges," 6 June 2018 Enforcing biometric exit at land borders has been more challenging, but customs officials hope that more sophisticated cameras could allow similar facial recognition systems to be used at land borders. — Russell Brandom, The Verge, "New Homeland Security system will bring facial recognition to land borders this summer," 5 June 2018 The wedding ceremony took place above the garden at the Rosewood resort, where the bride wore a custom lace gown by Valentino. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, "Kate Upton Is Pregnant With Her First Child," 14 July 2018 The first extended public hearings were held in 1916, on the hotly contested nomination of Louis Brandeis who, following custom, refused to testify in person. — Jeffrey Rosen, WSJ, "What We Learn from Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings," 13 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
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 Geff worked in the automotive business, specializing in custom auto body and repair. — Hartford Courant, courant.com, "Geoffrey S. Grocki," 3 June 2018 Gerde is currently working on a book about minimalist living and home-schools their son, so custom workspace and storage were built-in to tuck their school supplies away after-hours. — Rachel Raczk, chicagotribune.com, "How do couples live in tiny homes without killing each other?," 17 May 2017 The parade will include custom bike builders, stunt teams, charitable groups and HOG chapters, as well as a few surprise guests. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "8 picks for Harley’s 115th Labor Day anniversary," 19 June 2018 The Golden Knights set team records for merchandise sales at Games 1 and 2 of the Cup Final, according to Rank + Rally, a company that creates custom merchandise and retail experiences for fans. — Helene Elliott, latimes.com, "Capitals don't offer much of an update on Evegeny Kuznetsov's status for Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final," 1 June 2018 Everything that’s in use now — custom audiences, lookalike, all the weird retargeting, the pair of shoes that follow you onto Facebook — that was all created then. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Former Facebook ad targeting boss Antonio García-Martínez on Too Embarrassed to Ask," 14 May 2018These 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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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
customs : taxes or fees that are paid to the government when goods come into or go out of a country
custom
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of custom (Entry 2 of 2)
: 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
\
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
adjectiveKids 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
nounLegal 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
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