Meaning & use
common interest
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
something that two or more people both like, enjoy, or care about
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a common interest' or 'common interests'.
Patterns
- have a common interest
- share a common interest
- common interests include
- a common interest in something
They became friends because they had a common interest in music.
Our common interests include hiking and photography.
The two groups share a common interest in protecting the forest.
Word forms
| plural | common interests |
|---|
Common combinations
- share a common interest
- We share a common interest in cooking.
- have common interests
- Good friends often have common interests.
- a common interest in
- She has a common interest in art with her sister.
- find a common interest
- It's easy to find a common interest when you talk.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shared interest
- Very similar, but 'shared interest' emphasizes that both people have it, while 'common interest' is the standard phrase.
- mutual interest
- More formal; often used in business or official contexts.
Commonly confused: common interest or common good?
common interest vs common good
This means the benefit of everyone, not a shared hobby or concern.
Practice
They discovered a common ______ in classical music.
Choose one answer.
The phrase is 'a common interest in something'. 'Interesting' and 'interested' are adjectives, and 'interests' is plural but the sentence needs a singular noun after 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “common interest”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.