common noun
a noun that may be preceded by an article or other limiting modifier and that denotes any or all of a class of entities and not an individual, as man, city, horse, music.
Compare Meanings
Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.
Origin of common noun
1- Also called common name .
- Compare proper noun.
Words Nearby common noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use common noun in a sentence
The proper noun when spoken can be confused for the common noun.
The common noun was made a proper name, and a legend by degrees attached to it.
Thus "John Smith" (particular; proper noun) and "Man" (general; common noun).
Thought-Culture | William Walker AtkinsonA common noun is the name given to an object to denote the class to which it belongs; as, book, man.
Business English | Rose BuhligA common noun is a name possessed by any one of a class of persons, animals, or things.
An English Grammar | W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
The, when placed before the pluralized abstract noun, marks it as half abstract or a common noun.
An English Grammar | W. M. Baskervill and J. W. Sewell
British Dictionary definitions for common noun
grammar a noun that refers to each member of a whole class sharing the features connoted by the noun, as for example planet, orange, and drum: Compare proper noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse