customs B1 Topic:Places & Geography US /ˈkʌs.təmz/ See IPA manual Freq #5628 Meanings 1 noun The government office at a border or airport that checks goods coming into a country. We had to wait in line at customs after our flight landed. 2 noun The taxes you pay on goods brought into a country. He had to pay customs on the watches he bought abroad. 3 noun The check you go through at a border before entering a country. After we cleared customs, our friends met us outside. Thesaurus Synonyms 2 noun · the taxes you pay on goods... custom Word family Derived forms customhousecustomshousenoncustoms Common collocations customs union Noun + noun Etymology AI details Plural of custom. Perhaps influenced by or taken as a corruption of customhouse, from Middle English custome hous. custome hous Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics Places & Geography External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # customs **Type:** Word **Level:** B1 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈkʌs.təmz/ **Frequency rank:** 5628 ## Meanings 1. The government office at a border or airport that checks goods coming into a country. 2. The taxes you pay on goods brought into a country. 3. The check you go through at a border before entering a country. ## Examples - We had to wait in line at customs after our flight landed. - He had to pay customs on the watches he bought abroad. - After we cleared customs, our friends met us outside. ## Derived Forms - customhouse - customshouse - noncustoms ## Roots and Affixes - Root: custome hous ## Etymology Plural of custom. Perhaps influenced by or taken as a corruption of customhouse, from Middle English custome hous. ## AI Etymology customs plural of custom. Perhaps influenced by or taken as a corruption of customhouse, from Middle English custome hous. Current senses include The government office at a border or airport that checks goods coming into a country and The taxes you pay on goods brought into a country. English relatives and later formations include customhouse, customshouse, noncustoms. ## Topics - Places & Geography markdown