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tradition

American  

[truh-dish-uhn] / trəˈdɪʃ ən /

noun

• traditions
  plural

1. 

   the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation, especially by word of mouth or by practice.

   a story that has come down to us by popular tradition.

2. something that is handed down.

   the traditions of the American South.

   Synonyms:

   usage, convention, habit, practice, custom

3. a long-established or inherited way of thinking or acting.

   The rebellious students wanted to break with tradition.

4. a continuing pattern of culture beliefs or practices.

5. a customary or characteristic method or manner.

   The winner took a victory lap in the usual track tradition.

6. Theology.

   1. (among Jews) body of laws and doctrines, or any one of them, held to have been received from Moses and originally handed down orally from generation to generation.

   2. (among Christians) a body of teachings, or any one of them, held to have been delivered by Christ and His apostles but not originally committed to writing.

   3. (among Muslims) a hadith.

7. Law. an act of handing over something to another, especially in a formal legal manner; delivery; transfer.

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tradition British  

/ trəˈdɪʃən /

noun

1. the handing down from generation to generation of the same customs, beliefs, etc, esp by word of mouth

2. the body of customs, thought, practices, etc, belonging to a particular country, people, family, or institution over a relatively long period

3. a specific custom or practice of long standing

4. Christianity a doctrine or body of doctrines regarded as having been established by Christ or the apostles though not contained in Scripture

5. (often capital) Judaism a body of laws regarded as having been handed down from Moses orally and only committed to writing in the 2nd century _ad

6. the beliefs and customs of Islam supplementing the Koran, esp as embodied in the Sunna

7. law Roman law Scots law the act of formally transferring ownership of movable property; delivery

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• countertradition
  noun
• nontradition
  noun
• traditionist
  noun
• antitradition
  adjective
• protradition
  adjective
• traditionless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• traditions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tradition

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English tradicion, from Old French, from Latin trāditiōn- (stem of trāditiō ) “a handing over or down, transfer,” equivalent to trādit(us), past participle of trādere “to give over, impart, surrender, betray” ( trā-, variant of trāns- trans- + -ditus, combining form of datus “given”; see date ¹) + -iōn- -ion

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Explanation

Traditions are longstanding customs and practices. It might be a family tradition to open Christmas presents on Christmas Eve, started because your parents were too impatient to wait. The noun tradition has Latin roots in the word tradere, which means hand over or hand down. So think of a tradition as something that is handed down from one generation to another. Fireworks on the Fourth of July are a national tradition, and playing your school's fight song at the start of the football game is probably a longstanding tradition designed to get the fans excited for the game.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tradition traditions

When Bli Lou's father died in July, she did not have the money to organise a funeral in line with tradition.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

Its new incarnation features design contributions from Schrager and British minimalist designer John Pawson and departs from upscale boutique hotel tradition in several ways.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Spending a year as a deckhand is a family tradition for Salter, the creative director of Paspaley, a family business that was founded over 90 years ago and cultures rare pearls off Australia’s Kimberley coast.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

One of those changes places him at the network’s famous Big Board as the chief data reporter for MS NOW—formerly MSNBC—carrying on an election-night tradition made famous by Steve Kornacki.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026

This includes older blended traditions such as rumba and samba, newer but well-established blended genres such as reggae and Afrobeat, and groups with unique experimental sounds borrowing from more than one tradition.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Catholics, along with people of all faith traditions, must be vigilant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

As part of a cultural exchange, three Senegalese and three Swiss wrestlers faced off Sunday in Dakar, mixing their own ancestral wrestling traditions.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Seven pipers from the National Piping Centre have been touring Guyana over the past week to learn more about the Guyanese musical traditions.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

By the mid-20th century, this inherited relationship with the macabre migrated from home altars and rural folk traditions into the pavement of urban youth cultures.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

Sharps and flats used to notate music in these traditions should not be assumed to mean a change in pitch equal to an equal-temperament half-step.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

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Related Words

• belief
• culture
• custom
• ethic
• folklore
• form
• habit
• heritage
• idea
• institution
• law
• legend
• lore
• myth
• mythology
• orthodoxy
• practice
• ritual
• wisdom

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