Meaning & use
common goal
Last updated
UK/ˌkɒmən ˈɡəʊl/
US/ˌkɑːmən ˈɡoʊl/
Meaning
nouncountable
a result that two or more people or groups are all trying to achieve together
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a common goal' or 'common goals'.
Patterns
- work toward a common goal
- share a common goal
- pursue a common goal
- have a common goal
The two departments finally agreed on a common goal.
Our common goal is to finish the project by June.
They put aside their differences and worked toward a common goal.
Word forms
| plural | common goals |
|---|
Common combinations
- work toward a common goal
- The team worked toward a common goal all year.
- share a common goal
- Both sides share a common goal: reducing waste.
- pursue a common goal
- The partners decided to pursue a common goal.
- a sense of common goal
- A sense of common goal kept everyone motivated.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shared aim
- This is a close synonym, but 'shared aim' is slightly more formal and less common in everyday speech.
- mutual objective
- More formal, often used in business or official contexts.
Commonly confused: common goal or common good?
common goal vs common good
This means the benefit of everyone in society, not a goal that people work toward together.
Practice
The two companies decided to work toward a ______ goal.
Choose one answer.
'Common goal' is a fixed phrase meaning a shared aim. The other adjectives do not collocate with 'goal' in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “common goal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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