customs
/ˈkʌs.təmz/noun, verb
customs is spelled C-U-S-T-O-M-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,206th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, customs means “The duties or taxes imposed on imported or exported goods” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in customs?
| Letters | 7: C-U-S-T-O-M-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,206th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is customs?
Customs appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,206th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce customs?
- /ˈkʌs.təmz/
Customs has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-customs.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does customs mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The duties or taxes imposed on imported or exported goods.
Customs of £200 were due on all the wine we took back from France.
- 2
The government department or agency that is authorised to collect the taxes imposed on imported goods.
Customs stopped us in the airport for an inspection.
- 3
The process of going through customs checks at a border checkpoint.
They usually don't care about customs, but she was clearly planning on selling most of it.
- 4
The location at a border checkpoint where customs checks are carried out.
- 5
plural of custom
verb
- 1
third-person singular simple present indicative of custom
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate customs?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of customs: CIQ, Cust..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Customs in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the duties or taxes imposed on imported or exported goods:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | douane, douanes |
| German | Zoll, Zollgebühr |
| Portuguese | alfândega, aduana |
| Spanish | aduana, arancel, derechos de aduana, aranceles |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does customs come from?
Plural of custom. Perhaps influenced by or taken as a corruption of customhouse, from Middle English custome hous.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).