Etymology : Middle English, from Old French, from Latin habitus condition, character, from habEre to have, hold; more at GIVE
Pronunciation : 'ha-b&t
Function : noun
Date : 13th century
1. custom, something that one is used to doing. habit\hab"it\ (#) n. [oe. habit, abit fr. habit fr. l. habitus state, appearance, dress, fr. habere to have, be in a condition; prob. akin to e. have. see:
have, and cf. able, binnacle, debt, due, exhibit, malady.].
2. the usual condition or state of a person or thing, either natural or acquired, regarded as something had, possessed, and firmly retained; as, a religious habit; his habit is morose; elms have a spreading habit; esp., physical temperament or constitution; as, a full habit of body.
3. (biol.) the general appearance and manner of life of a living organism.
4. fixed or established custom; ordinary course of conduct; practice; usage; hence, prominently, the involuntary tendency or aptitude to perform certain actions which is acquired by their frequent repetition; as, habit is second nature; also, peculiar ways of acting; characteristic forms of behavior. a man of very shy, retired habits. irving.
5. outward appearance; attire; dress; hence, a garment; esp., a closely fitting garment or dress worn by ladies; as, a riding habit. costly thy habit as thy purse can buy. there are, among the states, several of venus, in different habits.
6. The usual condition or state of a person or thing, either natural or acquired, regarded as something had, possessed, and firmly retained; as, a religious habit; his habit is morose; elms have a spreading habit; esp., physical temperament or constitution; as, a full habit of body.
7. The general appearance and manner of life of a living organism.
8. Fixed or established custom; ordinary course of conduct; practice; usage; hence, prominently, the involuntary tendency or aptitude to perform certain actions which is acquired by their frequent repetition; as, habit is second nature; also, peculiar ways of acting; characteristic forms of behavior.
9. Outward appearance; attire; dress; hence, a garment; esp., a closely fitting garment or dress worn by ladies; as, a riding habit.
10. To inhabit.
11. To dress; to clothe; to array.
12. To accustom; to habituate. a pattern of behavior acquired through frequent repetition; "she had a habit twirling the ends of her hair"; "long use had hardened him to it" a distinctive attire an established custom; "it was their habit to dine at 7 every evening" put a habit on.
13. 1. A habit is something that you do often or regularly. He has an endearing habit of licking his lips when he's nervous Many people add salt to their food out of habit, without even tasting it first. a survey on eating habits in the UK.
14. A habit is an action which is considered bad that someone does repeatedly and finds it difficult to stop doing. A good way to break the habit of eating too quickly is to put your knife and fork down after each mouthful After twenty years as a chain smoker Mr Nathe has given up the habit.
15. A drug habit is an addiction to a drug such as heroin or cocaine. She became a prostitute in order to pay for her cocaine habit.
16. A habit is a piece of clothing shaped like a long loose dress, which a nun or monk wears.
17. If you say that someone is a creature of habit, you mean that they usually do the same thing at the same time each day, rather than doing new and different things.
18. If you are in the habit of doing something, you do it regularly or often. If you get into the habit of doing something, you begin to do it regularly or often. They were in the habit of giving two or three dinner parties a month I got into the habit of calling in on Gloria on my way home from work.
19. If you make a habit of doing something, you do it regularly or often. You can phone me at work as long as you don't make a habit of it. In psychology, any regularly repeated behaviour that requires little or no thought and is learned rather than innate. Some habits (e.g., tying a shoelace) may conserve higher mental processes for more demanding tasks, but others promote behavioral inflexibility or are unhealthy. Five methods are commonly used to break unwanted habits: replacing the old response with a new one, repeating the behaviour until it becomes unpleasant, separating the individual from the stimulus that prompts the response, habituation, and punishment.