commons.

Land or space reserved for shared community use or subject to common-use rights.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• village commons
• graze on the commons
• protect the commons

On the page

Villagers gathered on the commons to decide whether the new road should cross it.

The landowner could not fence the commons without challenging established grazing rights.

After years of neglect, the neighborhood reclaimed its commons for public games.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting. Selected shared-place sense, not a legislature or dining hall. Legal common land can be privately owned while others hold use rights; common use is not identical to public ownership. Commons is already a plural-form or collective noun; no additional -s. Singular common can name a specific shared open area, as in a village common.