Meaning & Definition of Common in English

1. A piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area

• "They went for a walk in the park"

1. Belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole

• Public

• "For the common good"

• "Common lands are set aside for use by all members of a community"

2. Having no special distinction or quality

• Widely known or commonly encountered

• Average or ordinary or usual

• "The common man"

• "A common sailor"

• "The common cold"

• "A common nuisance"

• "Followed common procedure"

• "It is common knowledge that she lives alone"

• "The common housefly"

• "A common brand of soap"

3. Common to or shared by two or more parties

• "A common friend"

• "The mutual interests of management and labor"

4. Commonly encountered

• "A common (or familiar) complaint"

• "The usual greeting"

5. Being or characteristic of or appropriate to everyday language

• "Common parlance"

• "A vernacular term"

• "Vernacular speakers"

• "The vulgar tongue of the masses"

• "The technical and vulgar names for an animal species"

6. Of or associated with the great masses of people

• "The common people in those days suffered greatly"

• "Behavior that branded him as common"

• "His square plebeian nose"

• "A vulgar and objectionable person"

• "The unwashed masses"

7. Of low or inferior quality or value

• "Of what coarse metal ye are molded"- shakespeare

• "Produced...the common cloths used by the poorer population"

8. Lacking refinement or cultivation or taste

• "He had coarse manners but a first-rate mind"

• "Behavior that branded him as common"

• "An untutored and uncouth human being"

• "An uncouth soldier--a real tough guy"

• "Appealing to the vulgar taste for violence"

• "The vulgar display of the newly rich"

9. To be expected

• Standard

• "Common decency"