common

1 of 2

adjective

com·​mon ˈkä-mən 

1

a

: of or relating to a community at large : public

work for the common good

b

: known to the community

common nuisances

2

a

: belonging to or shared by two or more individuals or things or by all members of a group

a common friend

buried in a common grave

common interests

b

: belonging equally to two or more mathematical entities

triangles with a common base

c

: having two or more branches

common carotid artery

3

a

: occurring or appearing frequently : familiar

a common sight

b

: of the best known or most frequently seen kind

—used especially of plants and animals

the common housefly

c

: vernacular sense 2

common names

4

a

: widespread, general

common knowledge

b

: characterized by a lack of privilege or special status

common people

a common laborer

c

: just satisfying accustomed criteria : elementary

common decency

5

a

: falling below ordinary standards : second-rate

Oh hard is the bed they have made him, / And common the blanket and cheap …

—A. E. Housman

b

: lacking refinement : coarse

said, in his common vulgar way, the city would have to lump it

—J. K. Jerome

6

: denoting nominal relations by a single linguistic form that in a more highly inflected language might be denoted by two or more different forms

common gender

common case

7

: of, relating to, or being common stock

commonly adverb

commonness

ˈkä-mən-nəs 

noun

common

2 of 2

noun

1

commons plural : the common people

2

commons plural in form but singular in construction : a dining hall

Students usually have their meals at the commons.

3

commons or Commons plural in form but singular or plural in construction

a

: the political group or estate comprising the commoners

b

: the parliamentary representatives of the commoners

c

: house of commons

4

: the legal right of taking a profit in another's land in common with the owner or others

5

: a piece of land subject to common use: such as

a

: undivided land used especially for pasture

b

: a public open area in a municipality

A food and jazz festival will be held at the town common.

6

a

: a religious service suitable for any of various festivals

b

: ordinary sense 3

7

: common stock

Phrases

in common

: shared together

has a lot in common with his neighbors

Synonyms

Adjective

• common or garden [chiefly British]
• commonplace
• everyday
• familiar
• frequent
• garden-variety
• household
• ordinary
• quotidian
• routine
• ubiquitous
• usual

Noun

• commoners
• crowd
• herd
• hoi polloi
• mass
• millions
• mob
• multitude
• people
• plebeians
• plebs
• populace
• public
• rank and file

Choose the Right Synonym for common

common, ordinary, plain, familiar, popular, vulgar mean generally met with and not in any way special, strange, or unusual.

common implies usual everyday quality or frequency of occurrence

a common error

lacked common honesty

and may additionally suggest inferiority or coarseness.

common manners

ordinary stresses conformance in quality or kind with the regular order of things.

an ordinary pleasant summer day

a very ordinary sort of man

plain is likely to suggest homely simplicity.

plain hard-working people

familiar stresses the fact of being generally known and easily recognized.

a familiar melody

popular applies to what is accepted by or prevalent among people in general sometimes in contrast to upper classes or special groups.

a writer of popular romances

vulgar, otherwise similar to popular, is likely to carry derogatory connotations (as of inferiority or coarseness).

souvenirs designed to appeal to the vulgar taste

Examples of common in a Sentence

Adjective

They have a common ancestor.

The people on the island have a sense of common identity.

It is common practice for one town's fire department to help another town when there is a big fire.

Electric windows are a common feature in new cars.

“Smith” is a common name.

I think some of the most common flowers are also some of the prettiest.

cures for the common cold

Noun

The campus has several dining commons.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

By simply deactivating the two genes, the new varietal grew fruit with 30 percent more glucose and fructose than common mass-production tomatoes. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024

Because morning thermals rise, this is a common area to catch bucks cruising the first few hours of the day. —Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 14 Nov. 2024

Noun

The Global Pact would codify a sovereign obligation to ensure that state and private actions do not harm other countries or the global commons and establish a fundamental human right to a clean and healthy environment. —Stewart Patrick, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2021

If this starts to sound like a tragedy of the commons—the destruction of a shared thing that everyone uses and no one takes responsibility for—well, that would not be wrong. —Maryn McKenna, WIRED, 7 Feb. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English commun, from Anglo-French, from Latin communis — more at mean

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 5

Phrases Containing common

• by common consent
• common carrier
• common cattle grub
• common cold
• common consent
• common courtesy
• common denominator
• common difference
• common divisor
• common dormouse
• common fraction
• common good
• common ground
• common knowledge
• common law
• common-law marriage
• common logarithm
• common market
• common measure
• common merganser
• common minke whale
• common multiple
• common noun
• common or garden
• common pleas
• common property
• common ratio
• common room
• common salt
• common school
• common sense
• common situs picketing
• common stock
• common time
• common touch
• common year
• court of common pleas
• enter common usage
• for the common/public good
• greatest common divisor
• have a lot in common
• have nothing in common
• have/share more/less in common with
• have/share (something) in common
• in common
• in common parlance
• in common with
• least common denominator
• least common multiple
• lowest common denominator
• lowest common multiple
• make common cause
• share a common purpose
• the common touch

Kids Definition

common

1 of 2 adjective

com·​mon ˈkäm-ən 

1

: relating or belonging to or used by everyone : public

work for the common good

2

: belonging to or shared by two or more individuals or by the members of a group or set

a common ancestor

3

a

: widespread sense 1, general

facts of common knowledge

b

: adequate

common decency

4

: occurring or appearing frequently : familiar

a common sight

5

: not above the average in rank, merit, or social position

the common people

6

a

: falling below ordinary standards : second-rate

b

: coarse sense 5, vulgar

commonly adverb

commonness

-ən-nəs 

noun

common

2 of 2 noun

1

plural : the common people

2

: a piece of land that is open to common use especially for pasture

—often used in plural

Medical Definition

common

adjective

com·​mon ˈkäm-ən 

: formed of or dividing into two or more branches

the common facial vein

common iliac vessels

Legal Definition

common

1 of 2 adjective

com·​mon

1

a

: of or relating to a community at large : public

common defense

b

: known to the community

a common thief

2

: belonging to or shared by two or more persons or things or by all members of a group

when the insured and the beneficiary perish in a common disaster

common areas of the building

3

: of or relating to common stock

common shares

common

2 of 2 noun

1

plural capitalized : house of commons

2

: the legal right of taking a profit in another's land in common with the owner or others

the common of estovers

the common of pasture

3

: a piece of land subject to common use: as

a

: land jointly owned and used especially for pasture

b

: a public open area in a municipality

4

: a condition of shared ownership : a condition in which a right is shared with an interest held by another person

held the estate in common

see also tenancy in common at tenancy compare severalty sense 1

5

: common stock at stock