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common

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒmən/
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Definition of common

adjective (commoner, commonest)

  • 1occurring, found, or done often; prevalent:salt and pepper are the two most common seasonings common misspellings it’s common for a woman to be depressed after giving birth
  • (of an animal or plant) found or living in relatively large numbers; not rare: you might spot less common birds such as the great spotted woodpecker the swordfish is not common in European waters
  • denoting the most widespread or typical species of an animal or plant:the common gull
  • ordinary; of ordinary qualities; without special rank or position:the dwellings of common people a common soldier
  • (of a quality) of a sort or level to be generally expected:common decency
  • of the most familiar type:the common or vernacular name
  • 2shared by, coming from, or done by two or more people, groups, or things:the two republics' common border problems common to both communities
  • belonging to or involving the whole of a community or the public at large:common land
  • Mathematics belonging to two or more quantities.
  • 3British showing a lack of taste and refinement supposedly typical of the lower classes; vulgar:she’s so common
  • 4 Grammar (in Latin, Dutch, and certain other languages) of or denoting a gender of nouns that are conventionally regarded as masculine or feminine, contrasting with neuter.
  • (in English) denoting a noun that refers to individuals of either sex (e.g. teacher).
  • 5 Prosody (of a syllable) able to be either short or long.
  • 6 Law (of a crime) of lesser severity:common assault

noun

  • 1a piece of open land for public use: we spent the morning tramping over the common looking for flowers
  • 2British informal common sense.
  • 3(in the Christian Church) a form of service used for each of a group of occasions.
  • 4 (also right of common) English Law a person’s right over another’s land, e.g. for pasturage or mineral extraction.

Phrases

common currency

  • 1a system of money shared by two or more countries.
  • 2something shared by different groups:a shared humanity is the common currency

common form

what is usually done; accepted procedure: it is nowadays common form to acknowledge Pound’s generosity to other writers

the common good

the benefit or interests of all:it is time our elected officials stood up for the common good

common ground

opinions or interests shared by each of two or more parties:artists from different cultural backgrounds found common ground

common knowledge

something known by most people: it’s common knowledge that no one has yet found a cure for cancer

common or garden

British informal of the usual or ordinary type:a common or garden family saloon car

common property

a thing or things held jointly: the atmosphere is the common property of every nation on earth
something known by most people: the general theory of climate change has now become common property

common thread

a theme or characteristic found in various stories or situations:a common thread through most of the stories is the support from the family

the common touch

the ability to get on with or appeal to ordinary people: he was an intimate of Lord Beaverbrook yet kept the common touch

have something in common

have a specified amount or degree of shared interests or characteristics:they had one thing in common, an obsession with rock and roll

in common

in joint use or possession; shared:a sect that had wives in common
Law held or owned by two or more people each having undivided possession but with distinct, separately transferable interests.

in common with

in the same way as:in common with other officers I had to undertake guard duties

out of the common

British rarely occurring; unusual: it is odd, yes, but not so out of the common

Derivatives

commonness

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒmənnɪs/
noun

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French comun (adjective), from Latin communis

common in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of common in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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