custom
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
Frequent repetition of the same behavior.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhstuhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkʌstəm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Frequent repetition of the same behavior; way of behavior common to many; ordinary manner; habitual practice; method of doing, living or behaving.
Traditional beliefs or rituals.
A custom (made-to-order) piece of art, etc.
adjective
Made or done in a way adjusted to fit the needs of a particular person or group (e.g., customer, health care patient, do-it-yourselfer), and thus specialized and, in some cases, unique.
Own, personal, not standard or premade.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Frequent repetition of the same behavior; way of behavior common to many; ordinary manner; habitual practice; method of doing, living or behaving.
Used this way, custom is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Specific / long
Other combinations
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Money collected under a tariff.
Someone who pays for goods or services.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
By custom.
Make to specifications.
Make to specifications.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A foreign purchaser who buys goods outright for resale.
Make to specifications.
An item made to the customer's specifications.
An item made to the customer's specifications.
The agency of the Treasury Department that enforces import tariffs.
Money collected under a tariff.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.