commoner

noun

com·​mon·​er ˈkä-mə-nər How to pronounce commoner (audio)
1
a
: one of the common people
b
: one who is not of noble rank
2
: a student (as at Oxford) who pays for his own board

Examples of commoner in a Sentence

a prince who married a commoner
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Maureen loathed that her daughter had married a commoner, and a Jew at that. Negar Azimi, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2024 The first is the secession of the plebeians, where commoners staged a walkout in protest of unfair treatment by the ruling class. Phil Kirschner, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024 Gang plays Cheon-young, a commoner who is enslaved but never relinquishes his dignity. Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024 Nettles is a commoner who manages to tame a wild dragon, known as Sheepstealer. James Grebey, Vulture, 4 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for commoner 

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of commoner was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near commoner

Cite this Entry

“Commoner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commoner. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

commoner

noun
com·​mon·​er ˈkäm-ə-nər How to pronounce commoner (audio)
: one of the common people : a person who is not of noble rank

Biographical Definition

Commoner

biographical name

Com·​mo·​ner ˈkä-mə-nər How to pronounce Commoner (audio)
Barry 1917–2012 American biologist and educator

More from Merriam-Webster on commoner

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