Adjacent Words

Majority definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MAJOR'ITY, n.
1. The greater number; more than half; as a majority of mankind; a majority of votes in Congress. A measure may be carried by a large or small majority.
2. Full age; the age at which the laws of a country permit a young person to manage his own affairs. Henry III. had no sooner come to his majority, than the barons raised war against him.
3. The office, rank or commission of a major.
4. The state of being greater.
It is not a plurality of parts, without majority of parts. [Little used.]
5. [L. majores.] Ancestors; ancestry. [Not used.]
6. Chief rank. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part; "the majority of his customers prefer it"; "the bulk of the work is finished" [syn: majority, bulk] [ant: minority]
2: (elections) more than half of the votes [syn: majority, absolute majority]
3: the age at which persons are considered competent to manage their own affairs [syn: majority, legal age] [ant: minority, nonage]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -ties) Date: 1552 1. obsolete the quality or state of being greater 2. a. the age at which full civil rights are accorded b. the status of one who has attained this age 3. a. a number or percentage equaling more than half of a total <a majority of voters> <a two-thirds majority> b. the excess of a majority over the remainder of the total ; margin <won by a majority of 10 votes> c. the greater quantity or share <the majority of the time> 4. the group or political party having the greater number of votes (as in a legislature) 5. the military office, rank, or commission of a major • majority adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 (usu. foll. by of) the greater number or part. Usage: Strictly used only with countable nouns, e.g. a majority of people, and not with mass nouns, e.g. a majority of the work. 2 Polit. a the number by which the votes cast for one party, candidate, etc. exceed those of the next in rank (won by a majority of 151). b a party etc. receiving the greater number of votes. 3 full legal age (attained his majority). 4 the rank of major. Phrases and idioms: the great majority 1 much the greater number. 2 euphem. the dead (has joined the great majority). in the majority esp. Polit. belonging to or constituting a majority party etc. majority rule the principle that the greater number should exercise greater power. majority verdict a verdict given by more than half of the jury, but not unanimous. Etymology: F majorité f. med.L majoritas -tatis (as MAJOR)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Majority Ma*jor"i*ty, n.; pl. Majorities. [F. majorit['e]. See Major.] 1. The quality or condition of being major or greater; superiority. Specifically: (a) The military rank of a major. (b) The condition of being of full age, or authorized by law to manage one's own affairs. 2. The greater number; more than half; as, a majority of mankind; a majority of the votes cast. 3. [Cf. L. majores.] Ancestors; ancestry. [Obs.] 4. The amount or number by which one aggregate exceeds all other aggregates with which it is contrasted; especially, the number by which the votes for a successful candidate exceed those for all other candidates; as, he is elected by a majority of five hundred votes. See Plurality. To go over to, or To join, the majority, to die.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(majorities) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. The majority of people or things in a group is more than half of them. The vast majority of our cheeses are made with pasteurised milk... Still, a majority continue to support the treaty. ? minority N-SING-COLL: usu sing, usu N of n • If a group is in a majority or in the majority, they form more than half of a larger group. Surveys indicate that supporters of the treaty are still in the majority. PHRASE: v-link PHR 2. A majority is the difference between the number of votes or seats in parliament or legislature that the winner gets in an election, and the number of votes or seats that the next person or party gets. Members of parliament approved the move by a majority of ninety-nine... According to most opinion polls, he is set to win a clear majority... N-COUNT: usu with supp 3. Majority is used to describe opinions, decisions, and systems of government that are supported by more than half the people involved. ...her continuing disagreement with the majority view... A majority vote of 75% is required from shareholders for the plan to go ahead. ADJ: ADJ n 4. Majority is the state of legally being an adult. In Britain and most states in the United States, people reach their majority at the age of eighteen. The age of majority in Romania is eighteen... N-UNCOUNT: oft with poss 5. see also absolute majority, moral majority

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Greater number, more than half. 2. Manhood, full age. 3. majorship.

Moby Thesaurus

accomplishment, adulthood, adultness, age of consent, ascendancy, best part, better part, body, bulk, deanship, driving age, essence, excellence, favor, flower of age, full age, full bloom, full growth, fullgrownness, generality, gist, gravamen, greatness, grown-upness, incomparability, inimitability, lead, legal age, legalis homo, main body, major part, manhood, manlihood, mass, mature age, maturity, meat, more than half, most, one-upmanship, plurality, precedence, predominance, predomination, preeminence, preponderance, preponderancy, prepotence, prepotency, prerogative, prestige, prime, prime of life, priority, privilege, right-of-way, ripe age, riper years, seniority, skill, substance, success, superiority, the greatest number, thrust, toga virilis, transcendence, transcendency, virility, virtuosity, womanhood, womanlihood, years of discretion