Tradition Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary
Britannica Dictionary definition of TRADITION
1
:
a way of thinking, behaving, or doing something that has been used by the people in a particular group, family, society, etc., for a long time
[count]
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cultural traditions
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an ancient/old tradition
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One of our town's time-honored traditions is to have an Easter egg hunt the week before Easter.
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It is their tradition to give thanks before they start eating.
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There's an office tradition of wearing casual clothes on Fridays.
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Our company has a long tradition [=history] of excellence in our field.
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My dad and granddad were both carpenters, and my brother is carrying on the tradition. [=my brother is also a carpenter]
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They no longer follow the traditions of their ancestors.
[noncount]
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The cheese is made according to tradition. [=made in a way that has been used for many years; made in the traditional way]
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We broke with tradition and had goose for Thanksgiving instead of turkey.
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By tradition, the celebration begins at midnight.
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They no longer follow tradition.
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a ceremony steeped in tradition [=having many traditional parts]
2
[noncount]
:
the stories, beliefs, etc., that have been part of the culture of a group of people for a long time
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According to tradition, the goddess lies sleeping beneath the mountain.
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He studied the Anglo-Saxon oral tradition. [=the stories, beliefs, etc., that a group of people shared by telling stories and talking to each other]
3
[singular]
— used to say that someone has qualities which are like the qualities of another well-known person or group of people from the past
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He's a politician in the best liberal tradition. [=a politician like other liberal politicians of the past]
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a politician in the (great/grand) tradition of Franklin Delano Roosevelt