VocabauraVOCABAURA

usual

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

Most commonly occurring.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

yoozhuhwuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈjuʒəwəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. uncountable

    The typical state of something, or something that is typical.

  2. countablecolloquial

    A specific good or service (e.g. a drink) that someone typically orders.

adjective

  1. Most commonly occurring; typical.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The typical state of something, or something that is typical.

Used this way, usual is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use usual

  • “Grew the usual vegetables.”adjective

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “usual”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Occurring

usual practiceusual procedure

Specific

usual method

Other combinations

usual mannerusual formusual courseusual senseusual place

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • usuallyadverbDerived adverb

    Under normal conditions.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • as usualadverbCompound term

    In the usual manner.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: most commonly occurring

common

Antonyms

noun

Sense: typical state of something

unusual

adjective

Sense: most commonly occurring

unusual

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Knowing “usual” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.

Know the meaning? Practice using it in a real situation, free, no credits.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.