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
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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.
He says that having customs' borders installed where they had not been before meant staff took time to understand the new rules.
From BBC • Jan. 4, 2022
The Royal Flying Doctor Service, an emergency health organization, reported 33 "walking wounded" aboard Australian customs' rescue ships.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2010
Indignantly Finance Minister Hueyo protested that the 200 tariff concessions would so cut Argentina's customs' revenues that the Government could not carry on.
From Time Magazine Archive
The government waived corporate taxes for ten years, canceled customs' duties on imported gaming equipment.
From Time Magazine Archive
It’s all ‘chalked up’ for him, an’ I got to wipe it off the slate when the next loads comes and he collects my customs’ duties.
From Jock of the Bushveld by Fitzpatrick, Percy, Sir
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.
