I. cul ‧ ture 1 S2 W1 AC /ˈkʌltʃə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ culture , ↑ subculture ; adjective : ↑ cultural , ↑ cultured ; adverb : ↑ culturally ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Latin cultura , from cultus ; ⇨ ↑ cultivate ]
1 . IN A SOCIETY [uncountable and countable] the beliefs, way of life, art, and customs that are shared and accepted by people in a particular society:
We speak Danish at home so that the boys don’t lose touch with their language and culture.
In our culture, it is rude to ask someone how much they earn.
I love working abroad and meeting people from different cultures.
Western/American/Japanese etc culture
A brief history of Western culture.
modern/contemporary culture
Business is one of the major forces in modern culture.
2 . IN A GROUP [uncountable and countable] the attitudes and beliefs about something that are shared by a particular group of people or in a particular organization:
Every government department has its own particular culture.
corporate/business/company culture
Changing the corporate culture is a long and difficult process.
culture of
In the field of drug development, the culture of secrecy is deep and strong.
modern American youth culture
the drug culture that is destroying so many young lives today
the German political culture
⇨ ↑ subculture
3 . ART/MUSIC/LITERATURE [uncountable] activities that are related to art, music, literature etc:
If it’s culture you’re looking for, the city has plenty of museums and art galleries.
the Italian Ministry of Culture
popular culture (=the music, books, films etc that are liked by a lot of people)
culture vulture informal (=someone who is very interested in art, music, literature etc)
4 . SOCIETY [countable] a society that existed at a particular time in history:
This technique was then adapted and refined by the more sophisticated cultures of the ancient world.
primitive cultures
5 . MEDICINE/SCIENCE [uncountable and countable] technical ↑ bacteria or cells grown for medical or scientific use, or the process of growing them:
It takes two to three weeks to grow the culture.
tissue cultures
6 . CROPS [uncountable] technical the practice of growing crops SYN cultivation :
clearing forest for rice culture
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ Western/American/Japanese etc culture
Our society was heavily influenced by Greek and Roman culture.
▪ national culture
Sport is a major part of our national culture.
▪ local culture
The local culture of the island has much to interest visitors.
▪ a common culture (=one that societies or people share)
Britain and America are united by a common culture.
▪ traditional/ancient culture
The people have a traditional culture which has hardly changed in 500 years.
▪ modern culture
Computers are a part of modern culture.
▪ the dominant culture (=the main culture in an area where there are many different cultures)
What are the values of the dominant culture?
■ culture + NOUN
▪ culture shock (=the confusion or shock that people sometimes feel in a very different country or place)
II. culture 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive] technical
to grow ↑ bacteria or cells for medical or scientific use