majority en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /məˈd͡ʒɑ.ɹɪti/ (US)
- (US) audio
- /məˈd͡ʒɒ.ɹɪti/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /məˈd͡ʒɔɹ.ɪti/ (US)
Etymology
From Middle French maiorité, from Medieval Latin maiōritātem, accusative of Latin maiōritās, from Latin maior (“greater”). Morphologically major + -ity.
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) More than half (50%) of some group.
The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.
1803, Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution:The majority agreed that the new proposal was the best.
They and the airline itself described an internal process that requires multiple departments to manually redesign the airline’s schedule – a system that works “the vast majority of the time,” Southwest said in a statement.
2022 December 30, Gregory Wallace, “Insiders at Southwest reveal how the airline’s service imploded”, in CNN, archived from the original on 25 Jul 2024:But in 1912 the American people gave the Democrats another opportunity, and under the leadership of Woodrow Wilson we swept the country from sea to sea. At the end of that historic contest we had the Presidency, the Senate by a working majority, and the House by an overwhelming majority.
1920, Champ Clark, Democratic Achievement:Those opposing the building plans were in the majority, so the building project was canceled.
- (broadly, countable, uncommon, uncountable) Any share or fraction that is bigger than any one of its counterpart shares or fractions (of the same whole).
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(countable, uncountable) 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.
Now, there is talk of Democrats potentially being locked out of a Senate majority for a time to come because of trends in the electorate. […] This shouldn’t be surprising. As political analyst Sean Trende posited in the book “The Lost Majority,” history is filled with examples of majorities falling apart and the parties coming in and out of power.
2021 October 17, Harry Enten, “Why neither party has a sustainable political majority”, in CNN, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2022:The winner with 53% had a 6% majority over the loser with 47%.
The ruling party had a narrow three-seat majority in the legislature.
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(countable, dated, uncountable) Legal adulthood, age of majority.
By the time I reached my majority, I had already been around the world twice.
-
(UK, countable, uncountable) The office held by a member of the armed forces in the rank of major.
He was a captain before he went to the front, and following the Argonne battles he got his majority and the command of the divisional machine-guns.
1925, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, chapter 8, in The Great Gatsby, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1953, →ISBN, page 150:On receiving the news of his promotion, Charles Snodgrass said he was delighted to be entering his majority.
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(countable, uncountable) Ancestors; ancestry.
Of evil parents an evil generation, a posterity not unlike their majority; of mischievous progenitors, a venomous and destructive progeny.
1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| majorities | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Coordinates
Deriveds
majoritive · majority draw · supramajority · working majority · majority problem · majoritarily · majority opinion · antimajority · tyranny of the majority · go over to the majority · join the majority · absolute majority · majority rule · majority leader · majoritize · simple majority · global majority · majoritarian · majority-minority · majority government · hypermajority · sexual majority · supermajority · vast majority · nonmajority · majorityhood · submajority · majority decision · ethnic majority · dictatorship of the majority
Relateds
most · quantifier · major
Synonyms
Translations (125)
fi enemmistö (more than half) · tr ekseriyet (more than half) · az əksəriyyət (more than half) · ar أَكْثَرِيَّة (more than half) · ml ഭൂരിപക്ഷം (more than half) · ja 多数 (more than half) · mt maġġoranza (more than half) · ro majoritate (more than half) · ko 다수 (more than half) · ar غَالِبِيَّة (more than half) · ar أَغْلَبِيّة (more than half) · sk väčšina (more than half) · nl meerderheid (more than half) · lv vairākums (more than half) · oc majoritat (more than half) · gd mòr-chuid (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · ca majoria (more than half) · el ενηλικιότητα (legal adulthood) · bn সাবালকতা (legal adulthood) · et enamus (more than half) · bg болшинство́ (more than half) · la majōritās (more than half) · gd làn-aois (legal adulthood) · fi enemmistö (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · es mayoría de edad (legal adulthood) · nn fleirtal (more than half) · nrf mâjorité (more than half) · fr majorité (more than half) · hi वयस्कता (legal adulthood) · de Erwachsenenalter (legal adulthood) · el πλειοψηφία (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · nb majoritet (more than half) · fa اکثریت ساده (more than half) · tr çoğunluk (more than half) · bg пълноле́тие (legal adulthood) · hi बालिग़पन (legal adulthood) · no seiersmargin (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · gl maioría (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · bg мнозинство́ (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · hu többség (more than half) · gd mòr-chuid (more than half) · it maggioranza (more than half) · es mayoría (more than half) · pl większość (more than half) · ka უმრავლესობა (more than half) · be бо́льшасць (more than half) · mk мнозинство (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · la plēritās (more than half) · nl merendeel (more than half) · de Majorität (more than half) · cmn 多數 /多数 (more than half) · hy մեծամասնություն (more than half) · el πλειοψηφία (more than half) · cy mwyafrif (more than half) · sq shumicë (more than half) · rsk векшина (more than half) · ba күпселек (more than half) · mk полноле́тност (legal adulthood) · da flertal (more than half) · nb flertall (more than half) · ru перевес (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · it maggiore età (legal adulthood) · sv majoritet (more than half) · fa اکثریت (more than half) · yi מערהייט (more than half) · nn majoritet (more than half) · io majoritato (more than half) · tk köpçülik (more than half) · ar مُعْظَم (more than half) · fi täysi-ikäisyys (legal adulthood) · ko 과반수 (more than half) · eo plimulto (more than half) · mk полноле́тство (legal adulthood) · pt maioria (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · sl večina (more than half) · vi phần đông (more than half) · bg мнозинство́ (more than half) · no myndighetsalder (legal adulthood) · hi अधिकांश (more than half) · nv agháago áníidlą́ą́ʼ (more than half) · my လူများစု (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · da myndighedsalder (legal adulthood) · ca majoria d'edat (legal adulthood) · my အများစု (more than half) · hu nagykorúság (legal adulthood) · ca majoria (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · id mayoritas (more than half) · cs většina (more than half) · mi nuinga (more than half) · bn সাবালকত্ব (legal adulthood) · ur اَکْثَرِیَّت (more than half) · tg аксарият (more than half) · tk köplük (more than half) · kk көпшілік (more than half) · ga tromlach (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · no majoritet (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · eo plejparto (more than half) · uz aksariyat (more than half) · pt maioria (more than half) · hu többség (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · ro majorat (legal adulthood) · vi số đông (more than half) · uk бі́льшість (more than half) · ur اَکْثَرِیَّت (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · mk мнозинство (more than half) · ko 득표차 (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · lt dauguma (more than half) · vi đa số (more than half) · de Mehrheit (more than half) · az çoxluq, əksəriyyət (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · fr majorité (legal adulthood) · el πλειονότητα (more than half) · ms majoriti (more than half) · fi yksinkertainen enemmistö (more than half) · pt maioridade (legal adulthood) · nrf mâjorité (legal adulthood) · sh većina (more than half) · th นิติภาวะ (legal adulthood) · az çoxluq (more than half) · cmn 公決 /公决 (difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes) · sh већина (more than half) · sq mazhorancë (more than half) · ky көпчүлүк (more than half) · gl maioría (more than half) · ru большинство́ (more than half)