common noun

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ˈcom•mon ˈnoun, n. [countable]

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

Also called ˈcom•mon ˈname.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

com′mon noun′, 

Grammar 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.

Also called com′mon name′. Cf. proper noun. 

• 1860–65

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

common noun noun

1. 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