ORDINARY Definition & Meaning

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ordinary

[ awr-dn-er-ee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

of no special quality or interest; commonplace; unexceptional:
One novel is brilliant, the other is decidedly ordinary; an ordinary person.
Antonyms: , ,
plain or undistinguished:
ordinary clothes.
somewhat inferior or below average; mediocre.
customary; usual; normal:
We plan to do the ordinary things this weekend.
Synonyms: ,
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. common, vulgar, or disreputable.
(of jurisdiction) immediate, as contrasted with something that is delegated.
(of officials) belonging to the regular staff or the fully recognized class.

noun

plural ordinaries.

the commonplace or average condition, degree, etc.:
ability far above the ordinary.
something regular, customary, or usual.
Ecclesiastical.
1. an order or form for divine service, especially that for saying Mass.
2. the service of the Mass exclusive of the canon.
History/Historical. a member of the clergy appointed to prepare condemned prisoners for death.
English Ecclesiastical Law. a bishop, archbishop, or other ecclesiastic or his deputy, in his capacity as an ex officio ecclesiastical authority.
(in some U.S. states) a judge of a court of probate.
British. (in a restaurant or inn) a complete meal in which all courses are included at one fixed price, as opposed to à la carte service.
a restaurant, public house, or dining room serving all guests and customers the same standard meal or fare.
penny-farthing ( def ).
Heraldry.
1. any of the simplest and commonest charges, usually having straight or broadly curved edges.
2. honorable ordinary.

ordinary

/ ˈɔː��ə�԰�ɪ /

adjective

of common or established type or occurrence
familiar, everyday, or unexceptional
uninteresting or commonplace
having regular or ex officio jurisdiction
an ordinary judge
maths (of a differential equation) containing two variables only and derivatives of one of the variables with respect to the other

noun

a common or average situation, amount, or degree (esp in the phrase out of the ordinary )
a normal or commonplace person or thing
civil law a judge who exercises jurisdiction in his own right
usually capital an ecclesiastic, esp a bishop, holding an office to which certain jurisdictional powers are attached
RC Church
1. the parts of the Mass that do not vary from day to day Compare proper
2. a prescribed form of divine service, esp the Mass
the US name for penny-farthing
heraldry any of several conventional figures, such as the bend, the fesse, and the cross, commonly charged upon shields
history a clergyman who visited condemned prisoners before their death
obsolete.
1. a meal provided regularly at a fixed price
2. the inn providing such meals
in ordinary
(used esp in titles) in regular service or attendance
physician in ordinary to the sovereign

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Other �y��vlog Forms

�ǰ�·�徱·�Բ��·��·�Ա�� noun
��ܲ�·��-�ǰ�·�徱·�Բ��·�� adjective
��·��·�ǰ�·�徱·�Բ��·�� adjective
�ܲ�·�ǰ�·�徱·�Բ��·�� adjective

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of ordinary¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ordinarie (noun and adjective), from Latin �ǰ��徱��ܲ� “regular, of the usual order,” equivalent to ordin- (stem of �ǰ��ō “row, regular arrangement”) + -��ܲ� adjective suffix; order, -ary

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of ordinary¹

C16: (adj) and C13: (some n senses): ultimately from Latin �ǰ��徱��ܲ� orderly, from �ǰ��ō order

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Idioms and Phrases

in ordinary, in regular service:
a physician in ordinary to the king.
out of the ordinary,
1. exceptional; unusual:
  Having triplets is certainly out of the ordinary.
2. exceptionally good; unusually good:
  The food at this restaurant is truly out of the ordinary.

More idioms and phrases containing ordinary

see out of the ordinary .

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Synonym Study

See common.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

That's why, even right now, things are so bad and the only people who seem to show courage are ordinary individual American citizens who are drawing lines.

From

Privatizing the National Weather Service would have additional implications, not only for ordinary people wanting to check the weather, but also for private entities that rely on data generated by the federal government.

From

But when the lights dimmed for a film tribute to Scott Sanders, even a stranger could surmise that the man of the hour was no ordinary office jockey.

From

These are just a few of the ways in which criminals use crypto to harm ordinary Americans.

From

But the threat of violence was out of the ordinary, a Metro representative told The Times.

From

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More About Ordinary

What does��ordinary mean?

Ordinary means usual, normal, or of no special quality.

Sometimes, the word is used in a negative way to mean somewhat inferior, below average, or just plain—in much the same way as the word mediocre.

Describing something as ordinary usually means that it’s very basic or commonplace—there’s nothing special or unusual about it. An ordinary day is one in which nothing unexpected happens.

You could describe a person as ordinary to mean that they’re normal, as in People treat me like a celebrity, but I’m just an ordinary guy. But using ordinary to describe a person can also be an insult, as in I don’t know what you see in him—he’s so ordinary. ��

Ordinary can also be used as a noun (especially in the ordinary) referring to the common or usual state or condition. This is how the word is used in the phrase out of the ordinary, which means unusual, uncommon, or exceptional.

Example: He was so ordinary it was almost suspicious—no one’s that normal!

Where does��ordinary come from?

The first records of the word ordinary come from the 1200s. It comes from the Latin �ǰ��徱��ܲ�, meaning “regular” or “of the usual order.”

Ordinary things are regular—they exist in the usual order of things. The adverb form ordinarily means “usually” or “in an ordinary manner.”

Describing something as extraordinary doesn’t mean it’s “extra ordinary” or “extra normal” but instead means it’s “beyond ordinary”—it’s unusual, exceptional, or out of the ordinary.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms of ordinary?

ordinarily (adverb)
ordinariness (noun)

What are some synonyms for ordinary?

What are some words that share a root or word element with ordinary?��

What are some words that often get used in discussing ordinary?

How is��ordinary used in real life?

Ordinary is commonly used to mean “normal” or “regular,” but it can also be used in a negative way to mean “inferior” or “not at all special.”

In ordinary circumstances, ammonium nitrate is fertilizer. But when placed under stress of heat and pressure, it acts like a bomb.

— The New York Times (@nytimes)

Even though Justin Long is fun to watch, and the third act is good, The Wave ends up being a little too ordinary

— io9 (@io9)

I only remember my dad watching us once. My mom went to an out of town funeral. I was seven and he made Campbell’s chicken noodle soup and oranges. It was 57 years ago and is still such a great memory. So fun and so out of the ordinary (I didn’t know that he could cook).

— Debbie Galant (@debgal55)

��

Try using��ordinary!

Which of the following words would NOT be used to describe something that’s considered ordinary?

A. fantastic
B. unremarkable
C. dull
D. typical

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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