commoner
Americannoun
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commoners
plural
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a common person, as distinguished from one with rank, status, etc.
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British.
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any person ranking below a peer; a person without a title of nobility.
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a member of the House of Commons.
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(at Oxford and some other universities) a student who pays the cost to dine at the commons and other expenses and is not supported by any scholarship or foundation.
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a person who has a joint right in common land.
noun
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a person who does not belong to the nobility
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a person who has a right in or over common land jointly with another or others
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a student at a university or other institution who is not on a scholarship
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of commoner
First recorded in 1350–1400; common + -er 1 ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing commoner
Aztec, Maya, and Inca Empires - Introductory
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Aztec, Maya, and Inca Empires - Middle School and High School
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European Colonization of North America, Lessons 3–5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He’s been called a thief, a benefactor, a commoner, a lord, a killer and a hero.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
One compares her to baseball star Shohei Ohtani, another praises her as a "commoner prime minister".
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
LONDON—It was supposed to be the moment a shamed prince was reduced to humble commoner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
Forest ranger Erika Dovey, also a commoner, said visitors should exercise "common sense".
From BBC ● May 15, 2024
They say those gentlemen hate Captain Smith because he is a commoner who has no special respect for nobles.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
Adam Johnson conjures the watery world of the precolonial Tuʻitonga empire in this fictional saga of sovereigns, warriors, celestial navigators and plucky commoners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
Ponies, pigs, cattle and donkeys, owned by the New Forest's commoners, are allowed to roam freely on the open forest under ancient rights tied to their properties.
From BBC ● May 15, 2024
At the time, this made George one of the first commoners not of royal blood to be given a dukedom.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2024
Open is that egalitarian of majors, with commoners playing alongside royalty, amateurs alongside mega-millionaires, and obscure underdogs alongside household names.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2023
He gathers the men who are new to weapons—the commoners and servants—to begin training.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
