common

CEFRA1

/ˈkɒm.ən/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Existing often or shared by many people.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Not special or unusual.

Examples

  • They are too busy fighting against each other to care for common ideals.

  • We have lots of things in common besides music.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings
  1. Occurring or happening regularly or frequently; usual.

  2. Of a quality: existing among virtually all people; universal.

  3. Mutual; shared by more than one.

More examples

In context
  • You and I are good friends, but we have little in common.

  • The two competitors have the common aim of winning the championship.

  • Winning the championship is an aim common to the two competitors.

Quick test

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Nearby

Origin

adjective

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...