Definition

Adverbial Phrase: - Shared by two or more parties: Used to describe a characteristic, interest, or possession that is jointly held or experienced by multiple people or things. - In joint use or possession: Indicating something that belongs to or is used by all members of a group.

Usage

The phrase "in common" is used after a verb (often "have") to connect the subjects who share the trait. It is typically followed by "with" when specifying the other party/parties. - Pattern: Subject + have/has + (something) + in common (+ with + other party).

Examples

• The two sisters have much in common, including a love for music.
• What do these three historical events have in common?
• In common with many young artists, she struggled to find an audience at first.
• They own the property in common.

Advanced Usage

• To hold something in common: To jointly own or agree on an idea or principle.
  • The community holds the parkland in common.
• Common ground: While a related concept meaning a basis for mutual agreement, it is a separate noun phrase, not a usage of "in common."

Variants and Related Words

• Common (adjective): Belonging to or shared by two or more individuals or things; frequent.
  • A common goal.
• Commonality (noun): The state of sharing features or attributes; a shared feature.
  • The study found several commonalities between the cultures.

Synonyms

• Jointly
• Mutually
• Shared

Related Idioms

• Have something in common: To share a feature or interest with someone else.
  • Despite their different backgrounds, they found they had a lot in common.
• In common with: Used to compare and show a shared characteristic.
  • In common with previous studies, our data confirms the trend.

Adverb

1. sharing equally with another or others
   • we have several things in common
   • in common with other companies they advertise widely