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culture

[ kuhl-cher ]
/ ˈkʌl tʃər /
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See synonyms for: culture / cultured / cultures on Thesaurus.com

noun
verb (used with object), cul·tured, cul·tur·ing.
to subject to culture; cultivate.
Biology.
  1. to grow (microorganisms, tissues, etc.) in or on a controlled or defined medium.
  2. to introduce (living material) into a culture medium.
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Origin of culture

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: “tilling, place tilled,” from Anglo-French, Middle French, from Latin cultūra “cultivation, agriculture, tillage, care.” See cult, -ure

synonym study for culture

4. See education.

OTHER WORDS FROM culture

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use culture in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for culture

culture
/ (ˈkʌltʃə) /

noun
verb (tr)
to cultivate (plants or animals)
to grow (microorganisms) in a culture medium

Derived forms of culture

culturist, nouncultureless, adjective

Word Origin for culture

C15: from Old French, from Latin cultūra a cultivating, from colere to till; see cult
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for culture

culture
[ kŭlchər ]

Noun
A growth of microorganisms, viruses, or tissue cells in a specially prepared nutrient medium under supervised conditions.
The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought. Culture is learned and shared within social groups and is transmitted by nongenetic means.
Verb
To grow microorganisms, viruses, or tissue cells in a nutrient medium.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for culture

culture

The sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another. Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, and art, from one generation to the next.

notes for culture

Anthropologists consider that the requirements for culture (language use, tool making, and conscious regulation of sex) are essential features that distinguish humans from other animals.

notes for culture

Culture also refers to refined music, art, and literature; one who is well versed in these subjects is considered “cultured.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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