What does common mean?

common means "belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public". That is the primary sense; the word has 10 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in common?

common has 2 syllables: com-mon. The stress falls on "com". In IPA it is /ˈkɑmən/.

What is another word for common?

Close synonyms include mutual, usual, vernacular, vulgar, plebeian. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of common?

The recorded antonyms are individual, uncommon.

Is common a common word?

common is banded "Core" — among the few thousand words that carry most english. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

What rhymes with common?

1 word rhymes with common. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.

common — meaning, pronunciation and 10 definitions

adjective

9 sensesA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

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”
Antonymsindividual
Similarcommunal public
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”
Antonymsuncommon
Similaraverage democratic demotic frequent general grassroots standard
3.
common to or shared by two or more parties
“a common friend”
“the mutual interests of management and labor”
Synonymsmutual
Similarshared
4.
commonly encountered
“a common (or familiar) complaint”
“the usual greeting”
Synonymsusual
Similarfamiliar
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”
Synonymsvernacular vulgar
Similarinformal
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”
Synonymsplebeian vulgar unwashed
Similarlowborn
7.
of low or inferior quality or value
“of what coarse metal ye are molded”
“produced...the common cloths used by the poorer population”
Synonymscoarse
Similarinferior
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”
Synonymscoarse rough-cut uncouth vulgar
Similarunrefined
9.
to be expected; standard
“common decency”
Similarordinary

noun

1 senseA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
a piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area
“they went for a walk in the park”
Synonymspark commons green
Broadertract
Narroweramusement park village green Central Park
Part ofurban area

Other forms of common

plural: commons·
comparative: commonner·
superlative: commonnest·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about common

What does common mean?: common means "belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public". That is the primary sense; the word has 10 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in common?: common has 2 syllables: com-mon. The stress falls on "com". In IPA it is /ˈkɑmən/.
What is another word for common?: Close synonyms include mutual, usual, vernacular, vulgar, plebeian. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
What is the opposite of common?: The recorded antonyms are individual, uncommon.
Is common a common word?: common is banded "Core" — among the few thousand words that carry most english. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.
What rhymes with common?: 1 word rhymes with common. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for common come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

adjective

9 sensesA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

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”
Antonymsindividual
Similarcommunal public
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”
Antonymsuncommon
Similaraverage democratic demotic frequent general grassroots standard
3.
common to or shared by two or more parties
“a common friend”
“the mutual interests of management and labor”
Synonymsmutual
Similarshared
4.
commonly encountered
“a common (or familiar) complaint”
“the usual greeting”
Synonymsusual
Similarfamiliar
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”
Synonymsvernacular vulgar
Similarinformal
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”
Synonymsplebeian vulgar unwashed
Similarlowborn
7.
of low or inferior quality or value
“of what coarse metal ye are molded”
“produced...the common cloths used by the poorer population”
Synonymscoarse
Similarinferior
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”
Synonymscoarse rough-cut uncouth vulgar
Similarunrefined
9.
to be expected; standard
“common decency”
Similarordinary

noun

1 senseA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
a piece of open land for recreational use in an urban area
“they went for a walk in the park”
Synonymspark commons green
Broadertract
Narroweramusement park village green Central Park
Part ofurban area

Other forms of common

plural: commons·
comparative: commonner·
superlative: commonnest·

Questions about common

What does common mean?: common means "belonging to or participated in by a community as a whole; public". That is the primary sense; the word has 10 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in common?: common has 2 syllables: com-mon. The stress falls on "com". In IPA it is /ˈkɑmən/.
What is another word for common?: Close synonyms include mutual, usual, vernacular, vulgar, plebeian. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
What is the opposite of common?: The recorded antonyms are individual, uncommon.
Is common a common word?: common is banded "Core" — among the few thousand words that carry most english. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.
What rhymes with common?: 1 word rhymes with common. Rhymes are matched on the phonemes from the last stressed vowel onward, which is the definition a reader has in their head.

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common

adjective

noun

Other forms of common

Questions about common

Tools

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Images & video

PDF & writing

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Health & fitness

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common

adjective

noun

Other forms of common

Questions about common