customs
KUSS-tumz
/ˈkʌstəmz/
The place at a port, airport, or frontier where officials check incoming goods, travelers, or luggage.
Specifically refers to the government agency and physical area responsible for collecting duties and preventing illegal imports.
The story behind the word. From Middle English 'custume', from Old French, from Latin 'consuetudo' meaning 'habit or usage'. The tax-collecting sense arose because payments made to the king on imports were considered 'customary' or habitual duties.
Word relationships
- border control: Border control is a broad term that includes passport check and immigration, while customs specifically focuses on goods, luggage, and taxes.
Commonly confused with
- custom: A custom is a traditional practice or habit, while customs (plural) is the government department that inspects goods at borders.
Word family
- customary (adjective): According to custom; usual.
Collocations
- go through customs
- customs declaration
- customs officer
- clear customs
Example sentences
- "We had to declare the local food items we bought when we went through customs at the airport." An international traveler's experience
- "The customs officers inspected our bags to ensure we were not carrying restricted agricultural products." A border crossing guide
Memory hook
Think of the 'custom' of paying taxes. It is a very old custom that governments still enforce at borders! Customs checks your bags for custom duties.
When not to use
Do not use when referring to personal habits or cultural traditions (which is 'custom' without the 's' or pluralized differently in context).
Fun facts
- In the UK, the department responsible for customs was historically combined with excise taxes to form 'HM Customs and Excise', now part of HMRC.
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