/ ˈkʌltʃə(r); NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
WAY OF LIFE
1.
[ U ] the customs and beliefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or group :
European / Islamic / African / American , etc. culture
working-class culture
2.
[ C ] a country, group, etc. with its own beliefs, etc. :
The children are taught to respect different cultures.
the effect of technology on traditional cultures
ART / MUSIC / LITERATURE
3.
[ U ] art, music, literature, etc., thought of as a group :
Venice is a beautiful city full of culture and history.
popular culture (= that is enjoyed by a lot of people)
the Minister for Culture
BELIEFS / ATTITUDES
4.
[ C , U ] the beliefs and attitudes about sth that people in a particular group or organization share :
The political cultures of the United States and Europe are very different.
A culture of failure exists in some schools.
company culture
We are living in a consumer culture.
GROWING / BREEDING
5.
[ U ] ( technical ) the growing of plants or breeding of particular animals in order to get a particular substance or crop from them :
the culture of silkworms (= for silk)
CELLS / BACTERIA
6.
[ C ] ( biology , medical ) a group of cells or bacteria, especially one taken from a person or an animal and grown for medical or scientific study, or to produce food; the process of obtaining and growing these cells :
a culture of cells from the tumour
Yogurt is made from active cultures.
to do / take a throat culture
■ verb
[ vn ] ( biology , medical ) to grow a group of cells or bacteria for medical or scientific study
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (denoting a cultivated piece of land): the noun from French culture or directly from Latin cultura growing, cultivation; the verb from obsolete French culturer or medieval Latin culturare , both based on Latin colere tend, cultivate . In late Middle English the sense was cultivation of the soil and from this (early 16th cent.), arose cultivation (of the mind, faculties, or manners) ; sense 3 dates from the early 19th cent.