typical
Americanadjective
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of the nature of or serving as a type or representative specimen.
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conforming to a particular type.
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Biology. exemplifying most nearly the essential characteristics of a higher group in natural history, and forming the type.
the typical genus of a family.
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characteristic or distinctive.
He has the mannerisms typical of his class.
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pertaining to, of the nature of, or serving as a type or emblem; symbolic.
adjective
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being or serving as a representative example of a particular type; characteristic
the painting is a typical Rembrandt
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considered to be an example of some undesirable trait
that is typical of you!
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of or relating to a representative specimen or type
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conforming to a type
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biology having most of the characteristics of a particular taxonomic group
a typical species of a genus
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of typical
First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin typicālis, equivalent to Late Latin typic(us) (from Greek typikós, equivalent to týp(os) type + -ikos -ic ) + Latin -ālis -al 1
Explanation
When something is typical, it is common, regular, expected — hanging out with friends and playing computer games are typical activities of American teens. To be typical is to be of a type, meaning that a person or thing has the same characteristics of everyone or everything else in the group, like a typical student, trying to talk the teacher out of giving homework over break. Something that is typical is what you can expect, like reading a guidebook about a faraway country you will visit to learn the typical weather and kinds of food you will encounter while you are there.
Vocabulary lists containing typical
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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Schooled
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Academic Vocabulary: Core Tier 2 Words, List 10
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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.
As an El Niño develops, the typical east-to-west trade winds along the equator weaken or even reverse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Their dust grains are smaller than those found in protoplanetary or more typical debris disks, they contain unusually high concentrations of warm dust, and their brightness changes irregularly over time.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
The downtown dance party featuring electronic music by John Summit this spring wasn’t the typical all-nighter for Carson Gillaspia, a content creator who enjoys going to festivals and raves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
It commands nearly double the valuation of the typical stock in the French CAC 40.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
When Bobby, as was typical, arrived past two o’clock, the restaurant would be sparsely filled: perhaps a Danish hippie, two American tourists, and three young local girls preoccupied with what they thought was important gossip.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
