adj. 1. Ordinary; common: a period when labor strikes were commonplace. 2. Uninteresting; unremarkable: "his disappointment at finding his child so commonplace" (Jane Stevenson). n. 1. a. A trite or obvious saying; a platitude: "the solidified commonplaces of established wisdom" (John Simon). b. Something, especially an occurrence, that is ordinary or common: "These stories dealt only with the commonplaces of life" (Jack London). 2. Archaic A passage marked for reference or entered in a commonplace book. [Translation of Latin locus commūnis, generally applicable literary passage, translation of Greek koinos topos.] |
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