the official name of some states in the United States (Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and Virginia and Kentucky) and associated territories (Puerto Rico)
"Many residents of that commonwealth voted for new state laws at the annual town hall meeting."
a politically organized body of people under a single government
"the state has elected a new president"
"African nations"
"students who had come to the nation's capitol"
"the country's largest manufacturer"
"an industrialized land"
a world organization of autonomous states that are united in allegiance to a central power but are not subordinate to it or to one another
"The delegates argued that joining the new commonwealth would allow each member state to retain its sovereignty while benefiting from collective defense and trade agreements."
a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
"The island nation became a commonwealth when its residents voted to replace their monarchy with an elected assembly."
The well-being of a community.
"The town council passed new recycling laws to improve the commonwealth by reducing waste and protecting local resources."
In plain English: A commonwealth is a group of states or countries that work together under a shared government and set of rules.
"The citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia gather to celebrate their national day."
Usage: Although "commonwealth" historically refers to the general welfare or public good of a society, in modern American English it almost exclusively denotes specific states like Pennsylvania or Massachusetts. Use this word only when referring to those particular political entities or their citizens, not as a synonym for community well-being.
The Commonwealth of Nations, a loose confederation of nations based around the former British Empire.
"As an observer at the recent summit in London, I was fascinated to hear the leaders discuss how their shared history within the Commonwealth continues to shape their diplomatic alliances today."
The word commonwealth combines "common" and "well-being," originally appearing around 1450 to mean the public welfare. By the early 1520s, it evolved into a specific term for secular society that became synonymous with republic in English usage.