adjective
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everyday, ordinary, or banal
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relating to the world or worldly matters
Related Words
See earthly.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mundane
First recorded in 1425–75; from Latin mundānus, equivalent to mund(us) “world” + -ānus -ane; replacing late Middle English mondeyne, from Middle French mondain, from Latin, as above
Explanation
An ordinary, unexciting thing can be called mundane: "Superman hid his heroic feats by posing as his mundane alter ego, Clark Kent." Mundane, from the Latin word mundus, "world," originally referred to things on earth. Such things were supposed to be uninteresting when compared to the delights of Heaven; hence the word's present meaning. Writing about reality TV shows, a Newsweek writer opined, "In reality bizarro-world, the mundane is presented as the spectacular" — in other words, people's everyday routines are now televised as entertainment.
Vocabulary lists containing mundane
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100 Top "SAT" Words
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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.
L.A. people get that the mundane is the destination because our version of mundane is anything but.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
Celtic have not been a good team this season, but they've shown a lust for battle, an ability to keep playing and winning even when their performances have never risen above the mundane.
From BBC • May 10, 2026
My husband and I burst out laughing – not at that scene, or the clerk’s impromptu theatrics, but at this injection of delight into an otherwise mundane errand.
From Salon • May 2, 2026
This mundane commute, which passes under the Hudson and comes with a complimentary whiff of stale beer and B.O, typically costs about $13 if you’re going to see Springsteen, or the Giants or Jets lose.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
Pressed out of existence in mundane mud, and no one even knowing what had happened to him, or where.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
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.
