Meaning & use
common wall
Last updated
UK/ˌkɒmən ˈwɔːl/
US/ˌkɑːmən ˈwɔːl/
Meaning
nouncountable
a wall that two rooms, buildings, or properties share and both use
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a common wall' or 'common walls'.
Patterns
- share a common wall
- a common wall between something
- build a common wall
- on the common wall
The two apartments share a common wall.
There is a common wall between our house and the neighbor's.
They hung a picture on the common wall.
Word forms
| plural | common walls |
|---|
Common combinations
- share a common wall
- The two offices share a common wall.
- a common wall between
- There is a common wall between the two units.
- on the common wall
- We painted the common wall light blue.
- build a common wall
- The builders will build a common wall to separate the rooms.
Synonyms and how they differ
- shared wall
- More common in everyday speech; 'common wall' is more formal and often used in legal documents.
- party wall
- A legal term for a wall shared by two properties, especially in British English.
Commonly confused: common wall or party wall?
common wall vs party wall
This is a specific legal term for a wall shared by two buildings; 'common wall' is a more general term.
Practice
The two apartments share a ______ wall.
Choose one answer.
'Common wall' is the standard phrase for a wall shared by two properties. The other adjectives do not collocate with 'wall' in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “common wall”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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