Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

ordinary

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
adjective American English pronunciation: ordinary /ˈɔrd(ə)nˌeri/
  1. 1
    normal or average, and not unusual or special

    He lives in an ordinary house in suburban Melbourne.

    It was just an ordinary Saturday morning.

    perfectly ordinary:

    From the outside it looked like a perfectly ordinary shed.

    no ordinary... (=a special or unusual example of something):

    But this was no ordinary cat – this cat could open doors.

    1. a.
      ordinary people are not famous, rich, or powerful

      Did the president meet any ordinary Mexicans?

      the needs of ordinary citizens

phrase

derived word

ordinariness

noun [uncountable]

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

watchword

a word or phrase that expresses someone’s attitude or intention

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog