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
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
Schooled
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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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.
Consider that the first of the baby boomers turn 80 this year, while the youngest are only three years away from the typical retirement age of 65.
From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026
It also costs less than the new Shake Shack sandwich, with a typical price of $5.49 to $6.99, at least when it was last offered.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026
"For example, these data show that the typical annual territory of a local group of 25 to 50 individuals, moving seasonally and maintaining regional connections with other groups, would be about 2,500 km2."
From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026
Although they weigh less than half of a typical running shoe, the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3s certainly have become big shoes to fill.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026
Like a typical child, she wants to touch everything, and because she is a princess, Richard and I don’t dare stop her.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
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.
