common noun

noun

, Grammar.

1. a noun that may be preceded by an article or other limiting modifier and that denotes any or all of a class of entities and not an individual, as man, city, horse, music.

common noun

noun

1. grammar a noun that refers to each member of a whole class sharing the features connoted by the noun, as for example planet, orange, and drum Compare proper noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of common noun¹

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Tupperware had so dominated the business of storing leftover food for so long that the company name more or less became a common noun, used to describe even food storage containers made by other companies.

From Slate

To some, lowercase-c “chautauqua” is a common noun, used as shorthand for an educational event composed of lectures, performances and/or concerts, and not tied to any particular geographic setting.

From Washington Post

It’s used as a common noun and can be pluralized or singular, for instance: “you should set a passkey for your banking app.”

From The Verge

Not to mention that the common noun “objection” fails to qualify as a “name, phrase, title, etc.”

From Washington Post

In the same way that Rick, Morty and the rest of their family are one version of a unit manifesting across infinite realities, Hiddleston's Loki is a Loki, not a singular force but a type, a common noun.

From Salon