Culture (noun) has four main senses in English:
1. The shared ideas, customs, beliefs, and social behaviour of a particular society or group of people. ("British culture", "youth culture")
2. The arts, intellectual achievements, and creative expression of a civilisation or era. ("a city of great culture")
3. The cultivation of plants, animals, or other living things. ("the culture of silkworms")
4. (Biology) A colony of bacteria or cells grown in a controlled laboratory environment. ("a bacterial culture")
What Does Culture Mean?
Culture is one of those deceptively simple-looking words that carries considerable depth. In everyday speech, learners most often encounter it in the social sense — the values, language, food, traditions, and shared history that make one society or group distinct from another. This is the sense most relevant to language learning: understanding the culture of an English-speaking country helps you interpret idioms, humour, social norms, and unspoken expectations.
The arts meaning is equally common. When a newspaper refers to "London's vibrant culture" it is pointing to theatres, galleries, music venues, literature, and public life. The two meanings often overlap: the arts are both a product of, and a contributor to, the wider culture of a society.
In professional contexts you will also encounter phrases such as company culture or organisational culture, which describe the shared values, attitudes, and working practices within a specific workplace or institution. This metaphorical extension of the word is now extremely common in business English.
The biological meaning (a bacterial culture, to culture cells) belongs primarily to scientific writing and medical contexts and follows the pattern of the original Latin sense: careful, deliberate cultivation of living things.
Etymology
The word culture comes from the Latin cultura, a noun derived from colere meaning "to till, to cultivate, to tend". In its earliest English uses (15th century) it referred literally to the tilling of land. By the 16th century it had extended to the cultivation of the mind and faculties. The metaphorical leap from farming to society — nurturing people and ideas the way a farmer nurtures crops — became firmly established in the 18th and 19th centuries. The same Latin root gives us agriculture (field-cultivation), horticulture (garden-cultivation), and the verb cultivate.
Example Sentences
| Sentence | Level & usage note |
|---|---|
| I want to learn about British culture before my trip to London. | A2 — simple statement of intent; social sense |
| Understanding British culture helps you understand many common English idioms. | B1 — gerund subject; culture + idioms link |
| The city is famous for its rich culture: world-class museums, live music, and street art. | B1 — arts sense; expanded with examples |
| A positive workplace culture encourages employees to share ideas without fear of criticism. | B2 — organisational culture; business English context |
| The microbiologist prepared a bacterial culture from the patient's throat swab to identify the infection. | C1 — scientific/biological sense; formal register |
Collocations
| Collocation | Meaning / context |
|---|---|
| popular culture | mainstream media, entertainment, and trends enjoyed by the general public |
| culture shock | the confusion or anxiety felt when encountering a very different way of life |
| company / corporate culture | the shared values and working practices within an organisation |
| youth culture | the customs, fashion, music, and attitudes typical of young people at a given time |
| pop culture | informal shortening of popular culture; films, music, TV, social media trends |
| cultural heritage | the traditions, monuments, and artworks passed down from earlier generations |
| a culture of (something) | an environment or habit that encourages a particular behaviour: "a culture of openness" |
| steeped in culture | deeply infused with history, tradition, and the arts |
| cross-cultural | involving or comparing two or more different cultures |
| bacterial culture | micro-organisms grown in a laboratory for scientific study |
Usage Notes
- Countable vs uncountable: Use the uncountable form for general artistic or intellectual life: "The region is rich in culture." Use the countable form for distinct societies or groups: "The conference explored five different cultures."
- Culture as a verb: In biology, culture is also a verb: "Scientists cultured the cells in a growth medium." This verbal use is rare outside scientific writing.
- Adjective forms: Cultural is the most common adjective: cultural differences, cultural exchange. Cultured means well-educated or refined in taste: "a cultured individual". Do not confuse the two.
- Register: Culture is neutral in register and works equally well in academic essays, journalism, and casual conversation. In formal writing, prefer "cultural norms" or "cultural values" over the vaguer "culture".
Common Mistakes
Watch Out For
I am very interested about British culture. ("interested about" is incorrect)
I am very interested in British culture. (use "interested in")
The culture of the company are very relaxed. (collective noun takes singular verb)
The culture of the company is very relaxed.
She is a very cultural person who loves art. ("cultural" describes things, not people)
She is a very cultured person who loves art. (use "cultured" for people)