Skip to main content
common good

common good

27 3.5
A benefit that helps all people in a community
  • noun
  • /ˈkɑːmən ɡʊd/
  • Formal
translation icon : bien común
  • The greater public authorities should understand the common good and direct the intermediate and smaller social groups toward it.
  • pursue the common good
  • promote the common good
  • serve the common good

And I'm going to make the common good pitch to you first.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The contributions of professional arts education associations to the common good are an important point.

    Academic text (1992)
  • When each part does so, it contributes to the good of the whole or the common good.

    Academic text (2008)
  • But we have to think of the common good.

  • A few of us making decisions on a global basis for the common good.

  • Academic freedom serves the common good and not the interests of any individual or group.

    Academic text (1991)
  • I devoted my whole life to prove that if we work together, we can reach a common good.

  • At the vital center of CST is the theme of the common good.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Logically, then, these professional associations also contribute to the common good because they represent activities of value to society.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Social cohesion is better, people are more willing to act together for the common good, there's greater public spiritedness, and people are less out for themselves.

  • In a thriving community, everyone works together for the common good to ensure a better quality of life.

Synonyms

commonweal
vscommon good
  • Archaic
2 9.9

The health and happiness of the public

emphasizes the benefits and interests of each community member collectively

Surface Forms

common good singular
common goods plural

Morphology

common + good

The meaning 'benefit of all members' is transparently derived from 'common' (shared) + 'good' (benefit); the phrase composes straightforwardly to mean a benefit belonging to the group. This is a cross-linguistically frequent, compositional pattern and should be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Common good may come from the simple image of a village well or shared field that everyone used. The common resource gave food or water for the good of the whole community, so the phrase now means 'the benefit of all'.