custom

«custom» in Mova's school dictionary: a way of doing something that people in a place or group… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (custom, customs; customs — at a border); adjective (custom — made specially, especially in the USA: custom-made)

meaning for a pupil

1) A custom is a way of doing something that people in a place or group have done for a long time: it is a custom to give presents at Christmas. tree →

2) A custom is a habit of a person: it was his custom to walk after dinner. tree →

3) Customs is the place at an airport or border where officers check what people bring into the country. tree →

4) Custom-made means made specially for one person. tree →

sense in the lessons

In social studies and religious education, pupils compare customs of different countries and cultures: greetings, food, festivals, table manners — understanding that customs differ is good manners when abroad. In travel: going through customs after a flight. Phrases: local custom, an old custom, it's the custom to, go through customs, customs officer, custom-made.

examples

• It's a custom in Japan to bow when you greet someone. tree →
• In our family, it's a custom to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. tree →
• We went through customs at the airport. tree →
• The customs officer checked our bags. tree →
• Learn the local customs before you travel. tree →
• His bike was custom-made for him. tree →
• Thank him according to our customs, Mowgli.” tree →

note

Countable: customs. «Customs» (at a border) is always plural in form. Related words: customary (usual), customer (a person who buys). Do not confuse «custom» with «costume» (special clothes).

In the corpora

• Having many wives was a custom of some old kings; today in most countries a person may be married to only one person.
• Customs differ between countries, and learning them before you visit avoids upsetting people.
• A child new to the country is still learning the customs, so explain kindly how things work.
• Showing respect means asking polite questions, using kind greetings and never mocking someone's food, clothes or customs.
• Never stand chopsticks upright in rice; in some Asian cultures it looks like a funeral custom.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «custom» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.