: commonly found or seen : ordinary, unremarkable
a commonplace occurrence
the large mergers that had become commonplace
Computers are commonplace in classrooms.
commonplaceness
noun
com·mon·place
ˈkä-mən-ˌplās 
Synonyms
Examples of commonplace in a Sentence
Adjective
Drug use has become commonplace at rock concerts.
He photographed commonplace objects like lamps and bowls.
Noun
It is a commonplace that we only use a small part of our brain's capacity.
We now accept cell phones and laptop computers as commonplaces of everyday life.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2024
The company’s robotic arms and automated systems are ubiquitous on automotive assembly plants, capable of doing the high-accuracy welding and laser work necessary in aerospace manufacturing, and have become commonplace in plastics, packaging, and a variety of other sectors.
—Justin Ling, WIRED, 4 Sep. 2024
Michaelangelo Matos, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2024
Neumann was a lifelong social democrat whose writings evince neither sympathy for Soviet communism nor any whiff of the fellow-traveling commonplace among radicals during the 1930s and 1940s.
—William E. Scheuerman, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2013
See all Example Sentences for commonplace 
Adjective
While September heat waves are relatively commonplace, said University of California, Los Angeles climate scientist Daniel Swain, this one is still notable for bringing anticipated temperatures as high as 115 degrees to coastal Southern California.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 6 Sep. 2024
The company’s robotic arms and automated systems are ubiquitous on automotive assembly plants, capable of doing the high-accuracy welding and laser work necessary in aerospace manufacturing, and have become commonplace in plastics, packaging, and a variety of other sectors.
—Justin Ling, WIRED, 4 Sep. 2024
Noun
Tour ’74 was Dylan’s first-ever arena tour—a rock commonplace by 1974 that had not even been imaginable in 1966.
—Michaelangelo Matos, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2024
Neumann was a lifelong social democrat whose writings evince neither sympathy for Soviet communism nor any whiff of the fellow-traveling commonplace among radicals during the 1930s and 1940s.
—William E. Scheuerman, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2013
See all Example Sentences for commonplace
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'commonplace.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near commonplace
Cite this Entry
“Commonplace.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commonplace. Accessed 26 Sep. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
commonplace
1 of 2 noun
com·mon·place
ˈkäm-ən-ˌplās
: something that is often seen, heard, or met with
commonplace
2 of 2 adjective
: very common or ordinary
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