commonplace
com·mon·place/ˈkɑmənˌpleɪs/adjective, noun, verb
commonplace is spelled C-O-M-M-O-N-P-L-A-C-E: 11 letters and 3 syllables (com·mon·place). It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, commonplace means “Ordinary; not having any remarkable characteristics” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in commonplace?
| Letters | 11: C-O-M-M-O-N-P-L-A-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: com·mon·place |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,896th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is commonplace?
Commonplace appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce commonplace?
- US /ˈkɑmənˌpleɪs/
- UK /ˈkɒmənˌpleɪs/
Commonplace has 3 syllables, split com·mon·place in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-commonplace.ogg, En-GB-commonplace.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of commonplace
- more commonplace comparative
- most commonplace superlative
- commonplaces plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- commonplacing participle, present
- commonplaced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does commonplace mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Ordinary; not having any remarkable characteristics.
noun
- 1
A platitude or cliché.
- 2
Something that is ordinary; something commonly done or occurring.
- 3
A memorandum; something to be frequently consulted or referred to.
- 4
A commonplace book.
verb
- 1
To make a commonplace book.
- 2
To enter in a commonplace book, or to reduce to general heads.
- 3
obsoleteTo utter commonplaces; to indulge in platitudes.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Commonplace in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ordinaire, banal , lieu commun |
| German | alltäglich, banal, gang und gäbe, gewöhnlich, abgedroschen, normal |
| Portuguese | corriqueiro, banal, prosaico, comum, rotineiro , lugar-comum |
| Spanish | común, común y corriente , lugar común, tópico, cliché, clisé |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does commonplace come from?
A calque of Latin locus commūnis, referring to a generally applicable literary passage, itself a calque of Ancient Greek κοινὸς τόπος (koinòs tópos).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).