common

com|mon¹ W1S1 [ˈkɔmən US ˈka:-] adj

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1¦(happening often)¦

2¦(a lot)¦

3¦(same/similar)¦

4 common ground

5¦(shared by everyone)¦

6 common knowledge

7 the common good

8 common practice

9¦(ordinary)¦

10 common courtesy/decency/politeness

11 common or garden

12 make/find common cause (with/against somebody)

13 common touch

14¦(social class)¦

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[Date: 1200-1300; : Old French; Origin: commun, from Latin communis]

1.) ¦(HAPPENING OFTEN)¦

happening often and to many people or in many places

≠ ↑rare

▪ Heart disease is one of the commonest causes of death.

common among

▪ Bad dreams are fairly common among children.

it's common for sb to do sth

▪ It's common for new fathers to feel jealous of the baby.

2.) ¦(A LOT)¦

existing in large numbers

≠ ↑rare

▪ Daisies are very common flowers.

3.) ¦(SAME/SIMILAR)¦ [usually before noun, no comparative]

common aims, beliefs, ideas etc are shared by several people or groups

▪ people working towards a common goal

▪ countries that share a common language

common to

▪ a theme that is common to all her novels

4.) common ground

facts, features, or beliefs that are shared by people or things that are very different

common ground between

▪ There is a great deal of common ground between management and trade unions on this issue.

5.) ¦(SHARED BY EVERYONE)¦ [ no comparative]

belonging to or shared by everyone in a society

common to

▪ These problems are common to all societies.

▪ Joe was chosen as captain by common consent (=with everyone's agreement) .

6.) common knowledge

something everyone knows

▪ It is common knowledge that travel broadens the mind.

7.) the common good

the advantage of everyone

▪ They work together for the common good.

8.) common practice

a usual or accepted way of doing things

▪ It was common practice for families to attend church together.

9.) ¦(ORDINARY)¦ [only before noun, no comparative]

ordinary and not special in any way

▪ common salt

▪ The twentieth century was called the century of the common man (=ordinary people) .

▪ He insists that he is a revolutionary not a common criminal.

10.) common courtesy/decency/politeness

a polite way of behaving that you expect from people

▪ It would be common courtesy to return their hospitality.

11.) common or garden

BrE ordinary

American Equivalent: garden-variety

▪ a common or garden dispute

12.) make/find common cause (with/against sb)

formal to join with other people or groups in order to achieve something

▪ France and Russia made common cause against Britain.

13.) common touch

the ability of someone in a position of power or authority to talk to and understand ordinary people - used to show approval

▪ He's made it to the top without losing the common touch.

14.) ¦(SOCIAL CLASS)¦

BrE old-fashioned an offensive word used for describing someone from a low social class

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HINT sense 1

Do not say 'It is common that...': It is common for children to be afraid (NOT It is common that children are afraid) of the dark.

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common ²

common² n

1.) have sth in common (with sb)

to have the same interests, attitudes etc as someone else

▪ I found I had a lot in common with these people.

▪ four women with almost nothing in common

2.) have sth in common (with sth)

if objects or ideas have something in common, they share the same features

▪ The two games have much in common .

3.) in common with sb/sth

in the same way as someone or something else

▪ In common with a lot of other countries, we're in an economic recession.

4.)

a large area of open land in a town or village that people walk or play sport on

▪ Boston Common