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Definition of "common" []

  • Belonging equally to or shared equally by two or more; joint: common interests. (adjective)
  • Of or relating to the community as a whole; public: for the common good. See Usage Note at mutual. (adjective)
  • Widespread; prevalent. (adjective)
  • Occurring frequently or habitually; usual. (adjective)
  • Most widely known; ordinary: the common housefly. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "common" in a sentence
  • "In speaking of the incommensurability of values, Berlin seems to have meant that there is no common measure, no ˜common currency™ for comparison, in judging between any two values in the abstract."
  • "Moore was not a systematic philosopher: unlike Reid's philosophy of common sense, Moore's ˜common sense™ is not a system."
  • "Other common names: _Yellow locust_; _common locust_; _locust_."