habit Hear it!

habit definition

habit (hab′it)

noun

  1. Obsolete costume; dress
  2. a particular costume showing rank, status, etc.; specif.,
    1. a distinctive religious costume a monk's habit
    2. a costume worn for certain occasions a riding habit
  3. habitual or characteristic condition of mind or body; disposition
    1. a thing done often and hence, usually, done easily; practice; custom
    2. a pattern of action that is acquired and has become so automatic that it is difficult to break
  5. a tendency to perform a certain action or behave in a certain way; usual way of doing
  6. an addiction, esp. to narcotics
  7. Biol. the tendency of a plant or animal to grow in a certain way; characteristic growth a twining habit

Etymology: ME < OFr < L habitus, condition, appearance, dress < pp. of habere, to have, hold < IE base *ghabh-, to grasp, take > give

transitive verb

  1. to dress; clothe
  2. Archaic to inhabit

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms habit idiom

medical habit definition - medical

habit Synonyms

habit

n.

  1. Tendency to repeated action

    disposition, way, fashion, manner, propensity, bent, turn, gravitation, proclivity, inclination, addiction, impulsion, predisposition, susceptibility, weakness, bias, proneness, fixed attitude, persuasion, second nature, penchant; see also attitude 2, inclination 1.

  2. A customary action

    custom, usage, wont, mode, practice, rule; see also custom 1.

  3. An obsession

    addiction, fixation, hang-up*; see obsession.

  4. Dress

    vestments, costume, riding costume, habiliment; see clothes.

habit refers to an act repeated so often by an individual that it has become automatic with him his habit of tugging at his ear in perplexity; practice also implies the regular repetition of an act but does not suggest that it is automatic the practice of reading in bed; custom applies to any act or procedure carried on by tradition and often enforced by social disapproval of any violation the custom of dressing for dinner; usage refers to custom or practice that has become sanctioned through being long established the meanings of words are established by usage; wont is a literary or somewhat archaic equivalent for practiceit was his wont to rise early


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

habit Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • lifetime: Six months on, " Champagne Jacques " shows few signs of breaking the habits of a lifetime.

Possessives

  • monk: It's a magician's cloak, that turns inside out to become a monk's habit.

Converse of object

  • eat: The change in eating habits has the report says been caused by the high pressure working culture in the United Kingdom.

Adjective modifier

  • eating: Yes, Yvonne had cornered the market on bad eating habits.

Noun used with modifier

  • eating: Making changes Try to set a good example with your own eating habits.
habit usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

habit quotes

Chaos often breeds life, when order breeds habit.

-Adams, Henry Brooks

Espiar a vida alheia, inquirir dos escravos o que se passava no interior das casas, era naquele tempo coisa ta‹  o comum e enraizada nos costumes, que ainda hoje, depois depassados tantos anos, restam grandes vest|¤gios de" s se belo ha¤  bito. Spying on other people's lives, asking slaves what was goingoninsidetheirhouseswasthenso commonandsuch a part of ourcustomsthat today, after so many years have passed, we have many remnants of such a beautiful habit.

-Almeida, Manuel Anto"  nio de

   Le mariage doit incessamment combattre un monstre qui de¤ v ore tout: l'habitude. Marriage should always combat the monster that devours everything: habit.

-Balzac, Honore¤   de

habit quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
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habit. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/habit

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