culture

Meanings

Plural: cultures

Noun

• a particular society at a particular time and place
• the tastes in art and manners that are favored by a social group
• all the knowledge and values shared by a society
• (biology) the growing of microorganisms in a nutrient medium (such as gelatin or agar)
  • "the culture of cells in a Petri dish"
• a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality; ; ; --Joseph Conrad
• the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization
  • "the developing drug culture"
  • "the reason that the agency is doomed to inaction has something to do with the FBI culture"
• the raising of plants or animals
  • "the culture of oysters"
• The arts, customs, lifestyles, background, and habits that characterize humankind, or a particular society or nation.
• The beliefs, values, behaviour, and material objects that constitute a people's way of life.
• The conventional conducts and ideologies of a community; the system comprising the accepted norms and values of a society.
• Any knowledge passed from one generation to the next, not necessarily with respect to human beings.
• Cultivation.
• The process of growing a bacterial or other biological entity in an artificial medium.
• The growth thus produced.
• A group of bacteria.
• The details on a map that do not represent natural features of the area delineated, such as names and the symbols for towns, roads, meridians, and parallels.
• Ellipsis of archaeological culture (“recurring assemblage of artifacts from a specific time and place that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society”).
• Ethnicity, race (and its associated arts, customs, etc.)

Verb

• grow in a special preparation
• to maintain in an environment suitable for growth (especially of bacteria) (compare cultivate)
• to increase the artistic or scientific interest (in something) (compare cultivate)

Synonyms

acculturation, civilisation, civilization, cultivation, finish, polish, refinement

Related Words

acculturation, agriculture, cult, cultivate, cultural, cultural criticism, culturally, culture shock, cultured, horticulture