1
a
: 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
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
2
a
: 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
Alexander Pope5
: the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties especially by education
6
: expert care and training
beauty culture
cultured; culturing
ˈkəlch-riŋ 
ˈkəl-chə-
1
2
a
: to grow in a prepared medium
culture microorganisms
b
: to start a culture from (see culture entry 1 sense 3)
culture soil
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
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
Recent Examples on the Web
David Nikel, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
Certainly, Tyla sporting the style has played a part in the prominence of boho braids in mainstream culture.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 4 May 2025
Judy Stone, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
The fertilized egg is cultured over about five to six days to create the blastocyst — the early stage of an embryo — and is either transferred or stored for future use, said Dr. Jason Griffith, a reproductive endocrinologist in Houston.
—Laura Ungar, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culture
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
From Titanic heritage to political murals, Belfast cruise port offers visitors a powerful mix of history, culture, and renewal.
—David Nikel, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
Certainly, Tyla sporting the style has played a part in the prominence of boho braids in mainstream culture.
—Kiana Murden, Vogue, 4 May 2025
Verb
Typically, the choice of antibiotics is guided by culturing a sputum sample and testing it against a variety of antibiotics to see which will kill the bugs that have grown in the culture.
—Judy Stone, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
The fertilized egg is cultured over about five to six days to create the blastocyst — the early stage of an embryo — and is either transferred or stored for future use, said Dr. Jason Griffith, a reproductive endocrinologist in Houston.
—Laura Ungar, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culture
Cite this Entry
“Culture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture. Accessed 10 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
culture
1 of 2 noun
cul·ture
ˈkəl-chər
2
: the raising or development of a product or crop by careful attention
bee culture
the culture of grapes
3
: improvement of the mind, tastes, and manners through careful training
4
a
: a particular stage, form, or kind of civilization
ancient Greek culture
b
: the beliefs, social practices, and characteristics of a racial, religious, or social group
c
: the characteristic features of everyday life shared by people in a particular place or time
southern culture
5
: cultivation of living material (as bacteria) in a special usually liquid or jellylike nutrient preparation
also
: a product of such cultivation
Medical Definition
culture
1 of 2 noun
cul·ture
ˈkəl-chər
1
a
: 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
2
a
: the act or process of growing living material (as bacteria or viruses) in prepared nutrient media
b
: a product of cultivation in nutrient media
culture
2 of 2 transitive verb
cultured; culturing
ˈkəlch-(ə-)riŋ
1
: to grow (as microorganisms or tissues) in a prepared medium
2
: to start a culture from
culture soil
also
: to make a culture of
culture milk
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