# habit

Pronunciation: say "HAB-it" /ˈhæb.ɪt/

## Noun

1. An action repeated so often that it becomes automatic, usually done without conscious thought.
   - Simple: Something you do over and over without thinking about it.
   - _Checking his phone first thing each morning had become an unconscious habit._
   - _Years of training turned careful hand-washing into an automatic habit for the nurses._
2. An action carried out on a regular basis, as a matter of routine.
   - Simple: Something you do regularly as part of your normal life.
   - _Taking a long walk after dinner is a habit she has kept for decades._
   - _Many writers have a habit of working in the early morning hours._
3. A persistent dependence on something, especially a drug; an addiction.
   - Simple: A strong need for something, like a drug, that is hard to stop.
   - _Treatment helped him overcome a heroin habit he had fought for years._
   - _Her gambling habit had drained the family's savings._
4. A long garment worn by monks and nuns as part of their religious order.
   - Simple: A long robe worn by monks and nuns.
   - _The young monk received his habit during the ceremony._
   - _She exchanged her ordinary clothes for the convent's plain habit._
5. An outfit worn for a particular activity, such as horseback riding; a uniform.
   - Simple: Special clothing worn for one kind of activity, like a uniform.
   - _The equestrian arrived in a tailored riding habit and polished boots._
   - _The fox-hunters gathered at dawn, each in a scarlet hunting habit._
6. The characteristic form of growth and overall appearance of a plant or crystal.
   - Simple: The general shape and the way a plant or crystal grows and looks.
   - _Botanists described the shrub's spreading habit and dense foliage._
   - _Quartz commonly shows a hexagonal prismatic habit._

## Verb

7. To dress someone or provide them with clothing.
   - Simple: To put clothes on someone.
   - _Wardrobe assistants habit the cast in period costume before each performance._
   - _The seamstress habited the bridal party in matching gowns._

## Noun

8. A person's outward appearance, manner of dress, or attire. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A person's outward look and the clothes they wear.
   - _His travel-worn habit betrayed how long he had been on the road._
   - _The portrait shows the duchess in the rich habit of the court._

## Verb

9. To dwell in or occupy a place as one's home; to inhabit. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To live in or occupy a place.
   - _The hermits who habit these mountains rarely come down to the village._
   - _Few people now habit the abandoned valley._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3** — From Middle English habit, from Latin habitus ('condition, bearing, state, appearance, dress'), from habeō ('I have, hold, keep'). It is distantly related to 'gift' and replaced the earlier Middle English abit (from Old French) as well as the native Old English þēaw.
**Meanings 4–9** — From Middle English habiten, from Old French habiter, from Latin habitāre ('to dwell, abide, keep'), a frequentative of habeō ('I have, hold, keep').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/habit (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).