Common definition
Widespread; prevalent.
Gas stations became common as the use of cars grew.
adjective
A tract of land, usually in a centrally located spot, belonging to or used by a community as a whole.
A band concert on the village common.
noun
Widely existing; general; prevalent.
Common knowledge.
adjective
Common stock.
noun
(anat.) Formed of or dividing into branches.
adjective
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Belonging equally to, or shared by, two or more or by all.
The common interests of a group.
adjective
Below ordinary; inferior.
Common ware.
adjective
Not refined; vulgar; low; coarse.
adjective
Land owned or used by all the inhabitants of a place; tract of open public land, esp. as a park in a city or town.
noun
The legal right of a person to use the lands or waters of another, as for fishing.
noun
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Having no rank.
A common soldier.
adjective
The common people; commonalty.
noun
The House of Commons.
noun
A building or hall for dining, typically at a university or college.
noun
Not of the upper classes; of the masses.
The common man.
adjective
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Unrefined or coarse in manner; vulgar.
Behavior that branded him as common.
adjective
Belonging or relating to the community at large; public.
Common carriers.
adjective
The definition of common is something that belongs to or is shared by two or more people or the community at large.
An example of common is the knowledge of drivers to stop at a red light.
adjective
Having no special designation, status, or rank.
A common sailor.
adjective
Belonging equally to or shared equally by two or more; joint.
Common interests.
adjective
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Of or relating to the community as a whole; public.
For the common good.
adjective
Occurring frequently or habitually; usual.
It is common for movies to last 90 minutes or more.
adjective
Most widely known; ordinary.
The common housefly.
adjective
Not distinguished by superior or noteworthy characteristics; average.
The common spectator.
adjective
Of no special quality; standard.
Common procedure.
adjective
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Of mediocre or inferior quality; second-rate.
Common cloth.
adjective
Either masculine or feminine in gender.
adjective
Representing one or all of the members of a class; not designating a unique entity.
adjective
(ecclesiastical) A service used for a particular class of festivals.
noun
The social class composed of commoners.
noun
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The parliamentary representatives of this class.
noun
(math.) Belonging equally to two or more quantities.
A common denominator.
adjective
Met with or occurring frequently; familiar; usual.
A common sight.
adjective
Basic; simple; rudimentary.
Common courtesy.
adjective
Designating a noun that refers to any of a group or class.
“book,” “apple,” and “street” are common nouns.
adjective
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Designating gender that can be either masculine or feminine.
The word “child” is of common gender.
adjective
(law) The right that a person has, in common with the owner or others, in the land or waters of another.
noun
The office or service suitable for any of a class of festivals.
noun
The ordinary of the Mass.
noun
It is common to find sharks off this coast.
adjective
Of or pertaining to uncapitalized nouns in English, i.e., common nouns vs. proper nouns.
adjective
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Vernacular, referring to the name of a kind of plant or animal, i.e., common name vs. scientific name.
adjective
(law) The right of taking a profit in the land of another, in common either with the owner or with other persons; so called from the community of interest which arises between the claimant of the right and the owner of the soil, or between the claimants and other commoners entitled to the same right.
noun
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Grafton.
Embassadors were sent upon both parts, and divers means of entreaty were commoned of.
verb
Widely but unfavorably known.
A common criminal.
adjective
in common
- Equally with or by all.
idiom
in common
- equally with, or shared by, another or all concerned
idiom
Origin of common
- Middle English commune from Old French commun from Latin commūnis mei-1 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English comun, from Anglo-Norman comun, from Old French comun (rare in the Gallo-Romance languages, but reinforced as a Carolingian calque of Frankish gemeini, gamaini "common" in Old French), from Latin commūnis (“common, public, general”), from Proto-Indo-European *ko-moin-i (“held in common”). Displaced native Middle English ȝemǣne, imene (“common, general, universal”) (from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English mǣne, mene (“mean, common”) (also from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English samen, somen (“in common, together”) (from Old English samen (“together”)).
From Wiktionary