commonly
Americanadverb
-
often; frequently.
commonly used words.
-
usually; generally; ordinarily.
- Synonyms:
- routinely, customarily, normally
-
in a common manner.
adverb
-
usually; ordinarily
he was commonly known as Joe
-
derogatory in a coarse or vulgar way
she dresses commonly
Etymology
Origin of commonly
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English communeli(che); equivalent to common + -ly
Explanation
The adverb commonly is good for talking about something that usually or ordinarily happens. Mice, for example, are commonly afraid of cats. Commonly describes an action that's to be expected. You could say that the bus commonly picks you up fifteen minutes late, or that colds and flu are commonly passed around between kids at school. The earliest use of commonly, around 1300, was to mean "in a way common to all," from the adjective common, or "belonging to all." The Latin root communis means "in common, public, or shared by all or many."
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.
The FDA later identified in testing that the baby wipes were contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia and Burkholderia gladioli, bacterias commonly found in soil and water, in product samples tested by the FDA.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
And Rossetti isn’t alone in seeing a spiritual nexus of a topic that, at least in secular circles, is more commonly discussed in the context of aliens.
From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026
President Trump pledged support for year-round sales of fuel with 15% ethanol blend, commonly referred to as the E15 bill.
From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026
City Manager Reginald Goodson, who wasn’t in the role at the time, wrote to the state auditor that work gatherings, such as team dinners, are commonly paid for “if considered reasonable and appropriate.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
The next year after that was 2 AD, and the next 3 AD, and so forth, replacing the two dating systems then most commonly in use.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
