common

Syllables: com·monUK/ˈkɒmən/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/ˈkɔmən/

common adjective: mutual; shared by more than one.

Adjective

common (comparative more common or commoner, superlative most common or commonest)

Mutual; shared by more than one.
- The two competitors have the common aim of winning the championship.
- Winning the championship is an aim common to the two competitors.
Synonyms:

mutual, shared, collective, corporate, joint, united

Antonyms:

personal, individual, peculiar, first and last, lone, one, one and only, only, single, singular
Existing among virtually all people; universal.
- common knowledge, common decency, common sense
- No man of common humanity, no man who had any value for his character, could be capable of it.1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter XVII, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume I, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 197
Synonyms:

catholic, general, ecumenical, generic, nonsingular, nonspecific, universal, unparticular, unsingular, unspecific

Antonyms:

individual, particular, concrete, discrete, peculiar, proper, singular, specific
Occurring or happening regularly or frequently; usual.
- It is common to find sharks off this coast.
- Thus it is sayde in the cōmon vsage.1530?, Robert Wyer, This boke is named the beaulte of women : translated out of Frenche in to Englysshe., page 8
Synonyms:

normal, ordinary, standard, usual

Antonyms:

special, exceptional, rare, uncommon, aberrant, abnormal, alien, anomalous, as queer as Dick's hatband, bizarre
Found in large numbers or in a large quantity; usual.
- "Commoner" used to be commoner, but "more common" is now more common.
- Sharks are common in these waters.
Synonyms:

extensive, prevalent, ubiquitous, disseminated, far-flung, pervasive, predominant, prevailing, regnant, rife

Antonyms:

rare, uncommon, few and far between, dearthy, geason, infrequent, in short supply, non-common, raresome, scant
Simple, ordinary or vulgar.
- the common folk
- This fact was infamous / And ill beseeming any common man, / Much more a knight, a captain and a leader.1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
Synonyms:

common-or-garden, everyday, average, medial, basic, bog-standard, commonplace, common-and-garden, congruent, consistent

Antonyms:

exceptional, extraordinary, noteworthy, special
As part of the vernacular name of a species, usually denoting that it is abundant or widely known.
- the common daisy (Bellis perennis)
Vernacular, referring to the name of a kind of plant or animal.
- common name vs. scientific name.
Antonyms:

technical term
Arising from use or tradition, as opposed to being created by a legislative body.
- common law
- As to eleemoſynary corporations, by the dotation the founder and his heirs are of common right the legal viſitors, to ſee that that property is rightly employed, which would otherwiſe have deſcended to the viſitor himſelf: […]1765, William Blackstone, “Of Corporations”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book I (Of the Rights of Persons), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 469
Of, pertaining or belonging to the common gender.

Synonyms:

epicene
Of or pertaining to common nouns as opposed to proper nouns.

Synonyms:

appellative
(obsolete) Profane; polluted.
- What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 10:15
Synonyms:

impure, unhallowed, corrupted, tainted, impious, mishallowed, profane, unholy, adulterated, contaminated

Antonyms:

hallowed, sanctified, immaculate, pristine, blessed, celestial, devoutful, divine, heavenly, holy
(obsolete) Given to lewd habits; prostitute.
- a Dame who her self was as Common as the King's High Way1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC
Synonyms:

easy, lustful, wanton, abandoned, fast, lascivious, lewd, liberal, libidinous, licentious

Antonyms:

chaste, pure, cherry, undeflowered, unfucked, unsullied, vestal, virgin, virginal

Noun

common (plural commons)

Mutual good, shared by more than one.
A tract of land in common ownership; common land.
- The hovel stood in the centre of what had once been a vegetable garden, but was now a patch of rank weeds. Surrounding this, almost like a zareba, was an irregular ring of gorse and brambles, an unclaimed vestige of the original common.1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick
- Throughout the land there is a great variation in the shape and size of village greens, from the many of pocket-handkerchief size to a roadside common of 20 acres or more - as at Lindfield in West Sussex.1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, pages 264-265
Synonyms:

commons
The people; the community.
- the weal o' the commonc. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
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.

Verb

common (third-person singular simple present commons, present participle commoning, simple past and past participle commoned)

(obsolete) To communicate (something).
- Then entred Satan into Judas, whose syr name was iscariot (which was of the nombre off the twelve) and he went his waye, and commened with the hye prestes and officers, how he wolde betraye hym vnto them.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Luke
Synonyms:

articulate, convey, express, communicate, share, make known, outspeak, portray, put, utter
(obsolete) To converse, talk.
- So long as Guyon with her commoned, / Vnto the ground she cast her modest eye […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
- Capitaine generall of Flaunders, which amiably enterteyned the sayd Duke, and after they had secretly commoned of.1568-1569, Richard Grafton, Chronicle
Synonyms:

chat, discourse, treat, confab, confabulate, conversate, converse, convo, jaw, parley
(obsolete) To have sex.

Synonyms:

company, know, shag, approach, cohabit, copulate, couple, engage in sex, exchange flesh, have intimate relations
(obsolete) To participate.

Synonyms:

join in, take part
(obsolete) To have a joint right with others in common ground.
(obsolete) To board together; to eat at a table in common.

Synonyms:

fadge, mess

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Common

Common (plural Commons)

A surname.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Common

Common

Denoting the name of a universal language in various works.
- Both princesses spoke Common well enough. Soon we realized that they knew each other.2011, Elizabeth Moon, Kings of the North, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 395
Synonyms:

Standard

common meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

common in Hindi

mutual: परस्पर paraspar
found in large numbers or in a large quantity: सामान्य sāmānya
usual: सामान्य sāmānya, साधारण sādhāraṇ
ordinary: साधारण sādhāraṇ

common in Marathi

common: सामान्य sāmānya
common, customary, ordinary, usual: प्राकृत prākrut

common in Urdu

common: عام 'ām, معمولی ma'mūlī, سادھارن sādhāran, عادی 'ādī

More languagesFewer languages

common in Bengali: আম am, সাধারণ śadharon, পাতি pati, সবার śobar
common in Telugu: సామాన్య sāmānya, మామూలు māmūlu
common in Malayalam: സാധാരണ sādhāraṇa, പൊതുവായ potuvāya
common in Kannada: ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ, ಪರಂಬೋಕು, ಎಂದಿನ, ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾದ
common in Punjabi: ਮਾਮੂਲੀ māmūlī, ਆਮ ām, سانجھا sāṉjhā
common in Gujarati: સામાન્ય sāmānya, જાતિવાચક jātivācak, સાધારણ sādhāraṇ
common in Sanskrit: सामान्य sāmānya, साधारण sādhāraṇa
common in Assamese: পাতি pati
common in Tagalog: pambalana, balana
common in Arabic: شَائِع šāʔiʕ
common in Malay: sama, sepunya, biasa
common in Indonesian: umum
common in Persian: رایج râyj, شایع šâye', معمول ma'mul, معمولی ma'muli
common in Vietnamese: chung, thường, thông thường, bình thường

Examples of common in a sentence

It differs from the common blackbird in the size of its beak.
Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
They shared a common dread that he would begin moaning.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 169:
And now a common enemy—pollution—promises to press the littoral nations of the Baltic into common cause.1989 May, Priit J. Vesilind, “The Baltic: Arena of Power”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 605:
A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.2013 May-June, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 193:

All 40 example sentences with common

Synonyms of common

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

10 more antonymsFewer antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of common

Forms of common

Adjective
comparative common	commoner
superlative	most common
superlative	commonest
Noun
plural	commons
Verb
third-person singular present	commons
present participle	commoning
past participle	commoned
past	commoned
Proper noun
plural	Commons

Plural of common: commons

Origin of common

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 Proto-West Germanic *gamainī (“common”) in Old French), from Latin commūnis (“common, public, general”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom-moy-ni-s (“held in common”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to exchange, change”). Displaced native Middle English imene, ȝemǣne (“common, general, universal”) (from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English mene, mǣne (“mean, common”) (also from Old English ġemǣne (“common, universal”)), Middle English samen, somen (“in common, together”) (from Old English samen (“together”)). Doublet of gmina and mean.

Probably a variant of Cumming or a reduced form of McCommon.

Words formed from common

ASEAN Common Time
Asian common toad
by common consent
commonable
common adder
common ageratum
common agouti
common alder)
commonality
common allamanda
commonalty
common amaranth
common American shad
common amsinckia
common ancestor
common-and-garden
common antilog
common antilogarithm
common apricot
common area
common arrowhead
common arum lily
common as bums
common as dirt
common ash
common as muck
common asparagus beetle
common as pig tracks
common babbler
common bamboo
common barbel
common barberry
common barley
common barn owl
common basilisk
common basil
common bean
common bearberry
common bearded dragon
common bear's breech
common bedbug
common beech
common beet
common beisa oryx
common bent
common bent-wing bat
common big-eared bat
common bile duct
common birch
common bird cherry
common bistort
common bittern
common blackberry
common blackbird
common blackfish
common black hawk
common bladderwort
common blanket octopus
common bleak
common blewit

Phrases with common

181 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with common

Questions about common

What does common mean?: Common means mutual; shared by more than one.
What is common in Hindi?: Common in Hindi is परस्पर (paraspar), सामान्य (sāmānya), साधारण (sādhāraṇ). See Common meaning in Hindi.
How do you use common in a sentence?: It differs from the common blackbird in the size of its beak.
What part of speech is common?: Common can be an adjective, a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce common?: Common is pronounced /ˈkɒmən/ (UK).

Words near common in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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Cite this entry: “common.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/common. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.