Definitions for culture
ˈkʌl tʃərcul·ture

Princeton's WordNet(3.88 / 34 votes)Rate this definition:

1. culture, civilization, civilisationnoun

   a particular society at a particular time and place

   "early Mayan civilization"

2. culturenoun

   the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group

3. acculturation, culturenoun

   all the knowledge and values shared by a society

4. culturenoun

   (biology) the growing of microorganisms in a nutrient medium (such as gelatin or agar)

   "the culture of cells in a Petri dish"

5. polish, refinement, culture, cultivation, finishnoun

   a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality

   "they performed with great polish"; "I admired the exquisite refinement of his prose"; "almost an inspiration which gives to all work that finish which is almost art"--Joseph Conrad

6. culturenoun

   the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization

   "the developing drug culture"; "the reason that the agency is doomed to inaction has something to do with the FBI culture"

7. cultureverb

   the raising of plants or animals

   "the culture of oysters"

8. cultureverb

   grow in a special preparation

   "the biologist grows microorganisms"

GCIDE(4.00 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Culturenoun

   (Biol.) (a) The cultivation of bacteria or other organisms (such as fungi or eukaryotic cells from mulitcellular organisms) in artificial media or under artificial conditions. (b) The collection of organisms resulting from such a cultivation. The growth of cells obtained from multicellular animals or plants in artificial media is called tissue culture.

   Etymology: [F. culture, L. cultura, fr. colere to till, cultivate; of uncertain origin. Cf. Colony.]

Wiktionary(3.33 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. culturenoun

   The arts, customs, and habits that characterize a particular society or nation.

   Etymology: From cultura, from cultus, perfect passive participle of colo (related to colonus and colonia), from earlier *, from kʷel-.

2. culturenoun

   The beliefs, values, behaviour and material objects that constitute a people's way of life.

   Etymology: From cultura, from cultus, perfect passive participle of colo (related to colonus and colonia), from earlier *, from kʷel-.

3. culturenoun

   The process of growing a bacterial or other biological entity in an artificial medium.

   Etymology: From cultura, from cultus, perfect passive participle of colo (related to colonus and colonia), from earlier *, from kʷel-.

4. culturenoun

   Any knowledge passed from one generation to the next, not necessarily with respect to human beings.

   Etymology: From cultura, from cultus, perfect passive participle of colo (related to colonus and colonia), from earlier *, from kʷel-.

5. culturenoun

   The collective noun for a group of bacteria.

   Etymology: From cultura, from cultus, perfect passive participle of colo (related to colonus and colonia), from earlier *, from kʷel-.

6. culturenoun

   cultivation

   The Culture of Spring-Flowering Bulbs

   Etymology: From cultura, from cultus, perfect passive participle of colo (related to colonus and colonia), from earlier *, from kʷel-.

7. culturenoun

   The language and peculiarities of a geographical location.

   A culture is the combination of the language that you speak and the geographical location you belong to. It also includes the way you represent dates, times and currencies. ... Examples: en-UK, en-US, de-AT, fr-BE, etc.

   Etymology: From cultura, from cultus, perfect passive participle of colo (related to colonus and colonia), from earlier *, from kʷel-.

8. cultureverb

   To maintain in an environment suitable for growth (especially of bacteria).

   Etymology: From cultura, from cultus, perfect passive participle of colo (related to colonus and colonia), from earlier *, from kʷel-.

9. cultureverb

   To increase the artistic or scientific interest (in something).

   Etymology: From cultura, from cultus, perfect passive participle of colo (related to colonus and colonia), from earlier *, from kʷel-.

Webster Dictionary(2.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Culturenoun

   the act or practice of cultivating, or of preparing the earth for seed and raising crops by tillage; as, the culture of the soil

   Etymology: [F. culture, L. cultura, fr. colere to till, cultivate; of uncertain origin. Cf. Colony.]

2. Culturenoun

   the act of, or any labor or means employed for, training, disciplining, or refining the moral and intellectual nature of man; as, the culture of the mind

   Etymology: [F. culture, L. cultura, fr. colere to till, cultivate; of uncertain origin. Cf. Colony.]

3. Culturenoun

   the state of being cultivated; result of cultivation; physical improvement; enlightenment and discipline acquired by mental and moral training; civilization; refinement in manners and taste

   Etymology: [F. culture, L. cultura, fr. colere to till, cultivate; of uncertain origin. Cf. Colony.]

4. Cultureverb

   to cultivate; to educate

   Etymology: [F. culture, L. cultura, fr. colere to till, cultivate; of uncertain origin. Cf. Colony.]

Freebase(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Culture

   Culture is a modern concept based on a term first used in classical antiquity by the Roman orator Cicero: "cultura animi". The term "culture" appeared first in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, to connote a process of cultivation or improvement, as in agriculture or horticulture. In the 19th century, the term developed to refer first to the betterment or refinement of the individual, especially through education, and then to the fulfillment of national aspirations or ideals. In the mid-19th century, some scientists used the term "culture" to refer to a universal human capacity. For the German nonpositivist sociologist Georg Simmel, culture referred to "the cultivation of individuals through the agency of external forms which have been objectified in the course of history". In the 20th century, "culture" emerged as a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of human phenomena that cannot be attributed to genetic inheritance. Specifically, the term "culture" in American anthropology had two meanings: ⁕the evolved human capacity to classify and represent experiences with symbols, and to act imaginatively and creatively; and ⁕the distinct ways that people living differently classified and represented their experiences, and acted creatively.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Culture

   kul′tūr, n. cultivation: the state of being cultivated: refinement the result of cultivation.—v.t. to cultivate: to improve.—adjs. Cul′turable; Cul′tural.—p.adj. Cul′tured, cultivated: well educated: refined.—adj. Cul′tureless. [L. cultūra—colĕre.]

U.S. National Library of Medicine(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Culture

   A collective expression for all behavior patterns acquired and socially transmitted through symbols. Culture includes customs, traditions, and language.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. culture

   A feature of the terrain that has been constructed by man. Included are such items as roads, buildings, and canals; boundary lines; and, in a broad sense, all names and legends on a map.

The Foolish Dictionary, by Gideon Wurdz(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. CULTURE

   A degree of mental development that produces tailor-made women, fantastically-sheared poodles and dock tailed horses.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. culture

   The belief, attitude, behavior, morals, ethics, family values, knowledge, teamwork, unity and love within a community, family, workplace, society, country or globally.

   The culture we are reared with has a joyful effect on us.

   Submitted by MaryC on March 15, 2020  

Suggested Resources(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. culture

   Song lyrics by culture -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by culture on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Attitude
   • Biology
   • Grow
   • Growth
   • Perfection
   • Taste

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'culture' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1151

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'culture' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3460

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'culture' in Nouns Frequency: #436

How to pronounce culture?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say culture in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of culture in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of culture in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of culture in a Sentence

1. Aziz Ansari:

   I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said. I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue.

2. Jeb Bush:

   You can love the Mexican culture, you can love your Mexican-American wife and also believe that we need to control the border.

3. Andrew Luger:

   I'm a prosecutor, plus I'm from a different culture. I'm different than them.

4. Celeste Beatty:

   We were kind of concerned that seeing these Confederate flags that we grew up believing was probably people who felt that we were not worthy or might want to do some harm to us, we decided not to work with them because we just felt that maybe the culture there was not one that would support our brand.

5. Susan Sontag:

   Ours is a culture based on excess, on overproduction; the result is a steady loss of sharpness in our sensory experience. All the conditions of modern life -- its material plenitude, its sheer crowdedness -- conjoin to dull our sensory faculties.

Images & Illustrations of culture

Popularity rank by frequency of use