1
2
a
: belonging to or shared by two or more individuals or things or by all members of a group
a common friend
buried in a common grave
common interests
b
: belonging equally to two or more mathematical entities
triangles with a common base
c
: having two or more branches
common carotid artery
3
a
: occurring or appearing frequently : familiar
a common sight
b
: of the best known or most frequently seen kind
—used especially of plants and animals
the common housefly
c
: vernacular sense 2
common names
4
a
: widespread, general
common knowledge
b
: characterized by a lack of privilege or special status
common people
a common laborer
c
: just satisfying accustomed criteria : elementary
common decency
5
a
: falling below ordinary standards : second-rate
Oh hard is the bed they have made him, / And common the blanket and cheap …—A. E. Housman
b
: lacking refinement : coarse
said, in his common vulgar way, the city would have to lump it—J. K. Jerome
6
: denoting nominal relations by a single linguistic form that in a more highly inflected language might be denoted by two or more different forms
common gender
common case
7
: of, relating to, or being common stock
commonly
adverb
1
commons plural
: the common people
2
commons plural in form but singular in construction
: a dining hall
Students usually have their meals at the commons.
3
commons or Commons plural in form but singular or plural in construction
a
: the political group or estate comprising the commoners
b
: the parliamentary representatives of the commoners
c
4
: the legal right of taking a profit in another's land in common with the owner or others
5
: a piece of land subject to common use: such as
a
: undivided land used especially for pasture
b
: a public open area in a municipality
A food and jazz festival will be held at the town common.
6
a
: a religious service suitable for any of various festivals
b
7
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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