customary

American  

[kuhs-tuh-mer-ee] / ˈkʌs təˌmɛr i /

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.

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noun

• customaries
  plural

1. a book or document containing the legal customs or customary laws of a locality.

2. any body of such customs or laws.

customary British  

/ ˈkʌstəmərɪ, -təmrɪ /

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

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noun

1. 1. a statement in writing of customary laws and practices

   2. a body of such laws and customs

Synonym Usage

See usual.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• customariness
  noun
• noncustomary
  adjective
• uncustomary
  adjective
• customarily
  adverb
• noncustomarily
  adverb
• uncustomarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• customaries
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of customary

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; see custom) + -ārius -ary

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Explanation

Something customary is done according to practice. When a bride walks down the aisle, it's customary for everyone at the wedding to rise out of respect. Every culture has its own customary traditions. In American culture it's customary for a child who loses a tooth to put it under her pillow and wait for the Tooth Fairy to arrive. In Greece, on the other hand, it's customary to throw a child's lost tooth onto the roof for good luck. Customary can also reference habitual things a person does, like taking your shoes off when you come home, or writing in your diary before bed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

customary customaries

Manoa Duwai convinced his village in 2009 to create a protected area within their customary fishing grounds on Fiji's Coral Coast after concerns over the small number and size of fish he was catching.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

"What type of species are we going to have left in our customary fishing ground? We have to do something," he said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions such as shareholder and regulatory approvals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The financing remains subject to bankruptcy court approval and customary conditions.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Milo was dressed in his customary business attire—olive-drab trousers, a fresh olive-drab shirt and tie, with one silver first lieutenant’s bar gleaming on the collar, and a regulation dress cap with a stiff leather bill.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

His Antiquities of Teutonic Law have shown that the codes of the Lombards, Franks, and Goths were not mere savage, brutal customaries, based, as had been supposed, on the absence of all law and right.

From Popular Tales from the Norse by George Webbe Dasent

Under date August, 1569, in the accounts of the High Treasurer there is an entry, where the "customaries of Ochterairder" are mentioned along with those of St. Andrews.

From Chronicles of Strathearn by W. B. Macdougall

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Related Words

• accepted
• traditional

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