commodious
a chair with a CHAMBER POT under it 2 old use a piece of
furniture containing drawers or shelves
com·mo·di·ous /kə'məʊdiəs/ adj lit or fml having plenty of
space: a commodious house→-ly adv
com·mod·i-ty/kə'mɒdətikə:/ /n 1 an article of trade
or COMMERCE especially a mineral or farm product: The
country is heavily dependent on its exports of agricultural
commodities. | There have been big rises in commodity prices,
especially copper and tin. | commodity brokers 2 fml a thing of
use or value: Tact is a valuable commodity.
com'modity ,market n a place where raw materials such as
coffee, sugar, wool, wheat etc are bought and sold in large
quantities. The main commodity market in Britain is the
London Commodity Exchange and in the US it is the
Chicago Board of Trade.
com·mo·dore /kəmde: ||'ka:-/n 1 a naval rank → see
TABLE 3 2 the captain in charge of a FLEET (=a group) of
MERCHANT ships (=ships carrying goods, materials etc) 3 the
president of a club for people who go sailing
com·mon /'komən||'ka:-/ adj 1 found or happening often
and in many places; usual: Rabbits and foxes are common in
Britain. | a common occurrence | a common failing among
teachers | one of the commonest/most common causes of heart
disease | It is now very common for women to hold managerial
jobs. → compare RARE, SCARCE 2 [A no comp.] of no special
quality or rank; of the ordinary type: Common salt is very
cheap. | How will these changes affect the common man?
(=ordinary people) | He didn't even have the common cour-
tesy to reply to her letter. → see also COMMON COLD 3 [A;F+to;
no comp.] a) belonging to or shared equally by two or more;
united; JOINT: united by their common desire to win their
country's independence | to make common cause (=join
together) against an enemy | This useful feature is common to
both these computers. (=they both have it) | When it comes to
politics my mother and I are on common ground. (=we have
the same opinions) b) of or belonging to society as a whole;
general: The government says it is acting for the common
good. | It's common knowledge among politicians that an
election will be called soon. | This forest is common land. |
Their latest system is by common consent (=as everyone
agrees) the best personal computer on the market. 4 especially
BrE derog rough in manner or appearance and (regarded as
being) of low social class; VULGAR: He's so common. | a
common-looking woman | She's as common as muck.
(=extremely common) 5 [A no comp.] tech having the same
relationship to two or more quantities: 5 is a common factor
of 10 and 20. → see also BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, COM-
MONLY →-ness n [U]
common² n 1 an area of grassland with no fences which
people in general are free to use: Every Saturday Jean went
riding on the village common. 2 in common shared with
someone else: John and I have nothing in common. (=no
shared interests, qualities etc) | In common with most young
people he hates getting up in the morning. 3 out of the
common fml unusual → see also COMMONS
,Common Agri'cultural, Policy, the the full name of
the CAP
com·mo.nal.i.ty/komənltil,ka:-/n [U] fml the fact of
having things in common
com·mon·al·ty /komanalti'ka:/ n [the S+sing./pl. v] fml the
common people; ordinary citizens
,common 'carrier n AmE 1 a CARRIER 2 a company that
provides telephone or other TELECOMMUNICATIONS lines in
exchange for payment
,common 'cold n [the] tech for COLD
,common de'nominator n 1 tech a number which can be
divided exactly by the lower number in a set of FRAC-
TIONS 2 a quality or belief shared by all the members of a
group: There is one common denominator in these very differ-
ent schemes - namely, that they are all aimed at reducing
pollution.
,Common 'Entrance Exami,nation, the an examina-
tion in the UK, taken in PREPARATORY SCHOOLS by children
between the ages of 12 and 14, in order to be able to go to a
PUBLIC SCHOOL (=expensive private school)
com·mon·er/'koməna |'ka:/ n'a person who is not a
member of a noble family: The princess married a commoner
274
,common 'fraction n especially AmE for VULGAR FRACTION
,common 'ground n [U] a familiar subject of interest,
argument etc which both or all people agree on: Both parties
refused to enter common ground and the meeting ended in
disaster.
com-mon hold
/kɔmɔnhouldll ka:-/ adj, adv, n tech a form of
ownership which allows someone to own part of a building,
such as a flat, in exactly the same way as if they owned the
FREEHOLD. Commonhold was introduced in the UK in 2002.
→ compare FREEHOLD
,common land n [U] (in Britain) land which is owned by no
one and cannot be fenced, and is available for everyone to
use
,common 'law n [(the)U] 1 the body of law originating in
England and the modern systems of law based upon it →
compare CANON LAW, CIVIL LAW, CRIMINAL LAW 2 the unwrit-
ten law, especially of England, based on custom and court
decisions rather than on laws made by Parliament → com-
pare STATUTE LAW
'common-law adj [A] according or related to common law:
common-law penalties
common-law husband n a man who lives with a woman
as if he was her husband
,common-law 'marriage n a union between a man and a
woman who live together and agree to call themselves
husband and wife without the performance of a marriage
ceremony
,common-law wife n a woman who lives with a man as if
she was his wife
com·mon·ly 'komənli||ka:-/ adv 1 usually or generally:
was commonly believed/thought that he was a spy. | acom-
monly used fertilizer →→ compare UNCOMMONLY 2 derog in a
COMMON manner
Common Market, the old-fash the European Union
'common 'noun n (in grammar) a noun that is not the
name of a single particular person, place, or thing: 'Book'
and 'sugar' are common nouns. → compare PROPER NOUN
,common-or-'garden adj [A] infml, especially BrE ordinary:
common-or-garden sewing machine which doesn't do any
fancy stitching
com·mon·place /'komonpleis 'ka:-/ adj ordinary; not
regarded as special or unusual: Heart transplant operations
are becoming fairly commonplace.
commonplace² n a well-known remark with little meaning
or interest: We exchanged a few commonplaces about our work
and the weather. → compare PLATITUDE
'common room n especially BrE a room in a school or college
for the use of teachers and/or students when they are not
teaching or studying
com·mons /komnz||ka:-/n 1 [the P] old use the ordinary
people as opposed to their rulers or people of noble
birth 2 [U] BrE lit or pomp meals provided for a large group of
people, for example at a college: They kept us on short
commons. (=didn't give us enough to eat)
Commons, the the House of Commons, the main part of
the British parliament: We're now going live to the Commons,
where the Prime Minister is about to make an announcement
→see also HOUSE OF LORDS, THE
common sense n [U] practical good sense and judgment
gained from experience, rather than special knowledge from
school or study: Although she's not very academic she's got
plenty of of common sense. → see also SENSIBLE
-commonsense /komənsens||'ka:-/ adj [A] a common-
sense approach to the problem
com·mon·weal/'komonwi:ll'ka:-/n [the S] lit or pomp the
general good of all the people living in a country
com·mon·wealth /'komənwele ||'ka:-/ n tech, fml, or lil
country or state
Commonwealth n 1 [the] also British Commonwealth espe
cially old use, Commonwealth of 'Nations fml an organization
of about 50 independent countries, most of which were
formerly part of the British Empire, established in order to
encourage trade and friendly relations among its members.
The British Queen is the head of the Commonwealth, and