Word of the day · 17 May 2026
culture
/ˈkʌltʃə/
noun
The shared customs, arts, beliefs and ways of living of a group; also the growing of cells, crops or bacteria in controlled conditions.
In a sentence
- Food markets are a quick window into a city’s culture.
- Company culture showed in how mistakes were handled.
- The lab maintained a sterile culture of the bacteria.
In an image
Origin
From Latin cultura (cultivation, tending), from colere (to till, inhabit, honor).
History
Farmers cultured soil long before sociologists spoke of culture as a whole way of life. Labs still culture cells in dishes. Anthropology widened the human sense to language, ritual, taste and habit. The word is broad on purpose, which is why people still ask what it covers in a sentence.
Nearby words
customs · society · tradition
What a group learns and passes on, from meals to meanings.