1
a
: a usage or practice common to many or to a particular place or class or habitual with an individual
It is the custom in New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras.
funeral customs
b
: long-established practice considered as unwritten law
c
: repeated practice
Custom makes all things easy.
d
: the whole body of usages, practices, or conventions that regulate social life
… family, kinship, and custom constituted the grounds of community.—
V. B. Leitch
V. B. Leitch2
customs plural
a
: duties, tolls, or imposts imposed by the sovereign law of a country on imports or exports
b
usually singular in construction
: the agency, establishment, or procedure for collecting such customs
went through customs at the airport without any difficulty
3
a
: business patronage (see patronage sense 4)
b
: usually habitual patrons : customers
1
: made or performed according to personal order
2
: specializing in custom work or operation
a custom tailor
Synonyms
Examples of custom in a Sentence
Noun
It is the custom for the bride to wear a white dress on her wedding day.
According to custom, the festivities begin at dusk.
It's a matter of custom.
We went through customs at the airport without any difficulty.
It took us a long time to clear customs at the border.
Adjective
The new kitchen will have custom cabinets.
that business tycoon wears only custom suits
Recent Examples on the Web
Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest, 19 Nov. 2024
For the latest premiere, Grande broke her Glinda pink streak in a custom Ralph Lauren gown in a light lemon yellow hue.
—Julia Teti, WWD, 18 Nov. 2024
Sydney Lupkin, NPR, 20 Nov. 2024
Its delivery problems aren't The cloud computing unit of Amazon said on Tuesday that researchers who want to use its custom AI chip, Trainium, can get credits worth $110 million to use its cloud data centers as part of its Build on Trainium program.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for custom 
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Noun
Today, as customs have changed, these decorations live on in the form of dress and jewelry.
—Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest, 19 Nov. 2024
For the latest premiere, Grande broke her Glinda pink streak in a custom Ralph Lauren gown in a light lemon yellow hue.
—Julia Teti, WWD, 18 Nov. 2024
Adjective
Compounding pharmacists are licensed to prepare custom drugs for people who need them.
—Sydney Lupkin, NPR, 20 Nov. 2024
Its delivery problems aren't The cloud computing unit of Amazon said on Tuesday that researchers who want to use its custom AI chip, Trainium, can get credits worth $110 million to use its cloud data centers as part of its Build on Trainium program.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for custom
Articles Related to custom
Dictionary Entries Near custom
Cite this Entry
“Custom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/custom. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
custom
1 of 2 noun
cus·tom
ˈkəs-təm 
1
: the usual way of doing things : the usual practice of a person or group
2
plural
: duties or taxes paid on imports or exports
3
: support given a business by its customers
custom
2 of 2 adjective1
: made or done to order
custom clothes
2
: specializing in custom work
a custom tailor
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