- outside or beyond normal experience, conditions, etc; unusual
- in excess of what is normal: an uncommon liking for honey
- an archaic word for uncommonly
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
un•com•mon /ʌnˈkɑmən/USA pronunciation
adj., -er, -est.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- not common;
unusual;
rare. - more than the usual in amount or degree.
- exceptional;
outstanding.
un•com•mon
(un kom′ən),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est.
un•com′mon•ness, n.
- not common;
unusual;
rare:an uncommon word. - unusual in amount or degree;
above the ordinary:an uncommon amount of mail. - exceptional;
remarkable.
- un-1 + common 1540–50
- 1. scarce, infrequent; odd, singular, strange, peculiar, queer. 2. extraordinary. 3. outstanding.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
uncommon /ʌnˈkɒmən/ adj
'uncommon' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
double negative
- hawfinch
- out-of-the-way
- rara avis
- rare
- rarity
- uncommonly
- unusual
- beaten
- choice
- customary
- exceptional
- extraordinaire
- extraordinary
- Guillain-Barré syndrome
- infrequent
- jargon
- myself
- notable
- odd
- old
- ought
- outsize
- peculiar
- phenomenal
- powerful
- quaint
- remarkable
- Reye's syndrome
- unaccustomed
- scarce
- selcouth
- singular
- special