common room
12
2.3
- noun
- /ˈkɑːmən ruːm/
:
sala común
- After class, students often gather in the common room to chat and relax.
- dorm common room
- dormitory common room
- common room and kitchen
We literally would sneak into the common rooms at the law school dorms here at Stanford and have our board meetings there.
- We literally would sneak into the common rooms at the law school dorms here at Stanford and have our board meetings there.
Examples
-
The common room is nearly empty and has pink walls and a gray concrete floor.
Fiction book (2001) -
We're in the sixth form common room!
-
And then I want everyone in the common room.
-
Through these double doors is the common room.
-
And this is the common room.
-
And he moved all of his stuff into the common room to sleep there.
-
Across the length of the common room, their eyes met.
Fiction book (1991) -
We each have our own tiny room, along with a shared common room in the middle.
Blog text (18) -
Some just stayed in their rooms; others gathered in the common room for talk.
Fiction book (1999) -
Several globes of soft, warm light ranged around the walls, illuminating a large common room filled with tables and chairs.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
3
2.7
A shared room where people relax or talk during the day
1
3.1
A room where club members meet for activities
How Social
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning — a room shared by people for socializing or studying — is directly compositional from 'common' (shared) + 'room' (indoor space). This adjective+noun combination follows a regular, cross-linguistically familiar pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Common room comes from the simple picture of a common, meaning 'shared', room where people in a school or building meet, use and relax together. So it now means 'a shared place to relax, talk, or study together'.