English Explanatory Dictionary

majority

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. More than half (50%) of some group.
  2. In a parliament or legislature, the difference in seats between the ruling party and the opposition; (UK) in an election, the difference in votes between the winning candidate and the second-place candidate, or between the winning candidate and all of the other candidates combined.
  3. Legal adulthood, age of majority.
  4. The office held by a member of the armed forces in the rank of major.
  5. Ancestors; ancestry.

Pronunciation

/məˈd͡ʒɒ.ɹɪti/ /məˈd͡ʒɑ.ɹɪti/ /məˈd͡ʒɔɹ.ɪti/ en-us-majority.ogg

Word forms

majority majorities

Etymology

From Middle French maiorité, from Medieval Latin maiōritātem, accusative of Latin maiōritās, from Latin maior (“greater”). Morphologically major + -ity.

Antonyms

minority

Related words

major most quantifier

Derived words

absolute majority antimajority dictatorship of the majority ethnic majority global majority go over to the majority hypermajority join the majority majoritarian majoritize majority decision majority draw majority government majorityhood majority leader majority-minority majority opinion majority problem majority rule nonmajority sexual majority simple majority submajority supermajority supramajority tyranny of the majority vast majority working majority
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