- plural of custom.
customs
Britishnoun
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duty on imports or exports
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the government department responsible for the collection of these duties
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the part of a port, airport, frontier station, etc, where baggage and freight are examined for dutiable goods and contraband
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the procedure for examining baggage and freight, paying duty, etc
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( as modifier )
customs officer
Explanation
Customs are taxes, or duties, that you sometimes have to pay when you import goods from another country. When you return home from a trip to another country, you have to clear customs by talking to a customs officer and declaring everything you bought or got as a gift while you were traveling. If you're bringing in a lot of stuff, you may have to pay customs — the duty on imports. Customs are a source of income for a country, and they also provide control over what’s coming in.
Vocabulary lists containing customs
Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Polygamy is legally recognised in Zimbabwe and South Africa if conducted under specific established customs.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
OSC said it corroborated information from the hack with customs records, court filings and other sources.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
In 2025, when the U.S. introduced new tariffs, China’s exports of consumer goods fell for the first time since 2019, according to a McKinsey Global Institute analysis of China’s official customs data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
They are not paid by foreign governments or overseas exporters, but by domestic businesses and importers when goods arrive at customs.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
This was us, in our own world, with our own language and customs.
From "Monday's Not Coming" by Tiffany D. Jackson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
