customary

[ kuhs-tuh-mer-ee ]

adjective

1. according to or depending on custom; usual; habitual.

   Synonyms: regular, common, conventional, accustomed, wonted

   Antonyms: uncommon

2. of or established by custom rather than law.
3. Law. defined by long-continued practices:

   the customary service due from land in a manor.

noun

, plural cus·tom·ar·ies.

1. a book or document containing the legal customs or customary laws of a locality.
2. any body of such customs or laws.

customary

/ -təmrɪ; ˈkʌstəmərɪ /

adjective

1. in accordance with custom or habitual practice; usual; habitual
2. law
   1. founded upon long continued practices and usage rather than law
   2. (of land, esp a feudal estate) held by custom

noun

1. 1. a statement in writing of customary laws and practices
   2. a body of such laws and customs

Derived Forms

• ˈcustomarily, adverb
• ˈcustomariness, noun

Other Words From

• cus·tom·ar·i·ly [kuhs, -t, uh, -mer-, uh, -lee, kuhs-t, uh, -, mair, -, uh, -lee], adverb
• non·custom·ari·ly adverb
• non·custom·ary adjective
• un·custom·ari·ly adverb
• un·custom·ary adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of customary¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; 1515–25 for current senses; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin custumārius, customārius, equivalent to costum(i)a, “custom” (also in Vulgar Latin; custom ) + -ārius -ary

Synonym Study

See usual.

Example Sentences

A Marine was standing outside the West Wing on Wednesday afternoon, as is customary when the president is in the Oval Office.

From Washington Post

As is customary, the court did not give a reason for not accepting Davis’s case.

From Washington Post

One difference between the two initiatives is that Asana has no lockup for employee and other insider shares as is typically customary with a direct listing.

From TechCrunch

At the same time, it complained that Apple had “dismissed” its requests to waive the App Store’s customary 30% fee on in-app purchases.

From TechCrunch

The Centers for Disease Control, as is customary, developed its own test, but a lab error made it useless.

From Nautilus

“In almost all rural areas of Switzerland, it is customary to eat cats and dogs,” she says.

From The Daily Beast

Such political statements are not customary after a meeting with the president, and Malloy hit back hard.

From The Daily Beast

In a normal investigation it is customary to release a preliminary report as soon after the event as possible.

From The Daily Beast

Robertson came out in his customary camo, and told the audience that it was the best suit of clothes he owns.

From The Daily Beast

It is customary for political campaigns to keep their most forthright views in-house.

From The Daily Beast

It is interesting to note that some other articles of customary export showed large declines in 1915 as compared with 1914.

From Project Gutenberg

The next day, a great crowd of men arrived, who performed their customary dances around the corpse.

From Project Gutenberg

In January, 1899, a Spanish gunboat silently entered the port without the customary whistling and firing of salute.

From Project Gutenberg

Secret instructions would not affect the rights of a purchaser ignorant of them and relying on customary authority.

From Project Gutenberg

The school-children, owing to a more liberal educational system, had lost the customary look of apathy.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accepted
• traditional