Definitions for customs
cus·toms

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. customs, customs duty, custom, impost(noun)

   money collected under a tariff

GCIDE(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. customs(n. pl.)

   the government department administering the collection of import tariffs. Used with as singular verb.

2. customs(n. pl.)

   that area within an airport, sea port, or other border station where freight or the baggage of travellers is checked for dutiable materials or contraband; as, it took an hour to get through customs.

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. customs(Noun)

   The duties or taxes imposed on imported or exported goods.

   We had to pay customs of u00A3200 on all the wine we took back from France.

2. customs(Noun)

   () The government department or agency that is authorised to collect the taxes imposed on imported goods.

   We got pulled over by customs on our way back from France - we only had 200 bottles of wine - it was so unfair.

Freebase(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Customs

   Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country. Depending on local legislation and regulations, the import or export of some goods may be restricted or forbidden, and the customs agency enforces these rules. The customs authority may be different from the immigration authority, which monitors persons who leave or enter the country, checking for appropriate documentation, apprehending people wanted by international arrest warrants, and impeding the entry of others deemed dangerous to the country. In most countries customs are attained through government agreements and international laws. A customs duty is a tariff or tax on the importation or exportation of goods. In the Kingdom of England, customs duties were typically part of the customary revenue of the king, and therefore did not need parliamentary consent to be levied, unlike excise duty, land tax, or other forms of taxes. Commercial goods not yet cleared through customs are held in a customs area, often called a bonded store, until processed. All authorised ports are recognised customs area.

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

1. customs

   The customs symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the customs symbol and its characteristic.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'customs' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #4032

How to pronounce customs?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say customs in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of customs in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of customs in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of customs in a Sentence

1. Laura Kuenssberg:

   PM spoke to Merkel at 8 a.m. this morning - No 10 source says she said there could only be a deal if Northern Ireland stays in Customs Union, if not, then deal is 'overwhelmingly unlikely', no 10 (Johnson's office) says PM stressed to Merkel UK believes they had put forward a reasonable new deal, but with no desire to engage on EU side + this demand on NI staying in Customs Union a deal is 'essentially impossible'.

2. Pope Francis:

   Junipero Serra left his native land and its way of life, he was excited about blazing trails, going forth to meet many people, learning and valuing their particular customs and ways of life.

3. Dominique Kabongo:

   Many people are evading (border) customs and using small footpaths and it is difficult for us to follow the contacts.

4. Burton:

   Every man thinks with himself, I am well, I am wise, and laughs at others; and ?tis a general fault amongst them all, that which our forefathers approved?diet, apparel, humours, customs, manners?we deride and reject in our time as absurd.

5. Walter Moran:

   Not only is the violation of customs laws, but the illegal extraction of these items takes away from the scientific record.

Images & Illustrations of customs

Popularity rank by frequency of use