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
- nontypical adjective
- nontypicalness noun
- quasi-typical adjective
- typicality noun
- typically adverb
- typicalness noun
- untypical adjective
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
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.
After three straight years of depressed sales, it will be a long, slow road back to a more typical level—and industry forecasters don’t agree on the route.
From Barron's
After three straight years of depressed sales, it will be a long, slow road back to a more typical level—and industry forecasters don’t agree on the route.
From Barron's
“This is just the beginning,” he says, though he recognizes that a $25,000 video marketing budget far surpasses the roughly $3,500 cost for a typical video for a property of this size.
There are several indications that more borrowers than typical are severely behind on their student-loan payments — and in 2026, these borrowers could face consequences that have major implications for their economic lives.
From MarketWatch
In 2025, the typical U.S. household needed seven years to save for a typical down payment, a significant improvement from the peak of 12 years in 2022.
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.