Habit definition

hăbĭt
habits
See word origin
Frequency:
To clothe in a habit, especially a nun's habit.
verb
19
4
To clothe; dress.
verb
12
4
Characteristic appearance, form, or manner of growth, especially of a plant or crystal.
noun
9
6
A particular costume showing rank, status, etc.
  • A distinctive religious costume.
    A monk's habit.
  • A costume worn for certain occasions.
    A riding habit.
noun
5
3
(obs.) Costume; dress.
noun
7
6
Advertisement
A tendency to perform a certain action or behave in a certain way; usual way of doing something.
noun
3
3
The definition of habit is something that you do regularly, or an addiction.

Brushing your teeth every morning and every night is an example of a good habit.

Being addicted to heroin is an example of having a heroin habit.

noun
1
1
(archaic) Physical constitution.
noun
1
1
(archaic) Outward appearance; attire; dress.
noun
0
0
(botany) Form of growth or general appearance of a variety or species of plant, e.g. erect, prostrate, bushy.
noun
0
0
Advertisement

He has a 10-cigar habit.

noun
0
0
To clothe.
verb
0
0
A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.

Made a habit of going to bed early.

noun
0
1
An established disposition of the mind or character.

A pessimistic habit.

noun
0
1
Customary manner or practice.

An early riser by habit.

noun
0
1
Advertisement
An addiction, especially to a narcotic drug.
noun
0
1
A distinctive set of clothing or style of dressing, especially of a religious order.
noun
0
1
A riding habit.
noun
0
1
(biol.) The tendency of a plant or animal to grow in a certain way; characteristic growth.

A twining habit.

noun
0
1
A thing done often and hence, usually, done easily; practice; custom.
noun
0
1
Advertisement
A pattern of action that is acquired and has become so automatic that it is difficult to break.
noun
0
1
(now rare) To dress; clothe.
verb
0
1
(archaic) To inhabit.
verb
0
1
An established disposition of the mind or character.

A pessimistic habit.

noun
0
1
Customary manner or practice.

An early riser by habit.

noun
0
1
Advertisement
An addiction, especially to a narcotic drug.
noun
0
1
The characteristic shape of a crystal, such as the cubic habit that is characteristic of pyrite.
0
1
The characteristic manner of growth of a plant. For example, grape plants and ivy display a vining habit.
0
1
An action done on a regular basis.

It’s become a habit of mine to have a cup of coffee after dinner.

noun
0
1
An action performed repeatedly and automatically, usually without awareness.

By force of habit, he dressed for work even though it was holiday.

noun
0
1
Advertisement
A long piece of clothing worn by monks and nuns.

It’s interesting how Catholic and Buddhist monks both wear habits.

noun
0
1
A piece of clothing worn uniformly for a specific activity.

The new riding habits of the team looked smashing!

noun
0
1
(archaic) To inhabit.
verb
0
1
Habitual or characteristic condition of mind or body; disposition.
noun
1
3
An addiction, esp. to narcotics.
noun
1
3
Advertisement
A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.

Made a habit of going to bed early.

noun
0
2

Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
habit
Plural:
habits

Origin of habit

  • Middle English clothing from Old French clothing, behavior, custom from Latin habitus from past participle of habēre to have ghabh- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Middle English habiten, from Old French habiter, from Latin habitāre, present active infinitive of habitō, frequentative of habeō (“I have, hold, keep”); see have.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English, from Old French habit, from Latin habitus (“condition, bearing, state, appearance, dress, attire”), from habeō (“I have, hold, keep”); see have.

    From Wiktionary

Habit Sentence Examples

  • They had a habit of disappearing.

  • It gets to be a habit after all these years.

  • He went to bed from habit, but soon realized that he could not sleep.

  • In the student sensuality is a sluggish habit of mind.

  • These are connected by the presence of peculiar types, Proteaceae, Restiaceae, Rutaceae, &c., mostly shrubby in habit and on the whole somewhat intolerant of a moist climate.

More sentences

Related articles

Also Mentioned In

Words near habit in the Dictionary