majority

ma·jor·i·ty

 (mə-jôr′ĭ-tē, -jŏr′-)

n. pl. ma·jor·i·ties

1. The greater number or part; a number more than half of the total.

2. The amount by which the greater number of votes cast, as in an election, exceeds the total number of remaining votes.

3. The political party, group, or faction having the most power by virtue of its larger representation or electoral strength.

4. Law The age at which a person is recognized as an adult by the law.

5. The military rank, commission, or office of a major.

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[French majorité, from Medieval Latin māiōritās, from Latin māior, greater; see meg- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: When majority refers to a particular number of votes, it takes a singular verb: Her majority was five votes. His majority has been growing by 5 percent every year. When it refers to a group of persons or things that are in the majority, it may take either a singular or plural verb, depending on whether the group is considered as a whole or as a set of people considered individually. So we say The majority elects (not elect) the candidate it wants (not they want), since the election is accomplished by the group as a whole; but The majority of the voters live (not lives) in the city, since living in the city is something that each voter does individually. · Majority is often preceded by great (but not by greater) in expressing emphatically the sense of "most of": The great majority approved. The phrase greater majority is appropriate only when considering two majorities: He won by a greater majority in this election than in the last.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

majority

(məˈdʒɒrɪtɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. the greater number or part of something: the majority of the constituents.

2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (in an election) the number of votes or seats by which the strongest party or candidate beats the combined opposition or the runner-up. See relative majority, absolute majority

3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the largest party or group that votes together in a legislative or deliberative assembly

4. (Law) the time of reaching or state of having reached full legal age, when a person is held competent to manage his own affairs, exercise civil rights and duties, etc

5. (Military) the rank, office, or commission of major

6. euphemistic the dead (esp in the phrases join the majority, go or pass over to the majority)

7. obsolete the quality or state of being greater; superiority

8. (modifier) of, involving, or being a majority: a majority decision; a majority verdict.

9. in the majority forming or part of the greater number of something

[C16: from Medieval Latin mājoritās, from major (adj)]

Usage: The majority of can only refer to a number of things or people. When talking about an amount, most of should be used: most of (not the majority of) the harvest was saved

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ma•jor•i•ty

(məˈdʒɔr ɪ ti, -ˈdʒɒr-)

n., pl. -ties.

1. the greater part or number; a number larger than half the total.

2. the amount by which the greater number surpasses the remainder (disting. from plurality).

3. the party or faction with the majority vote.

4. the state or time of being of full legal age: to attain one's majority.

5. the military rank or office of a major.

[1545–55; < Medieval Latin majōritās. See major, -ity]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

majority

1. 'majority'

If something is true of the majority of the people or things in a group, it is true of more than half of them.

The majority of students in the class will go on to study at college.

In the majority of cases, the illness can be treated successfully.

When the majority is not followed by 'of', you can use either a singular or plural form of a verb after it.

The majority is still undecided about which way to vote.

The majority were in favour of the proposal.

However, when you use the majority of followed by a plural noun or pronoun, you must use a plural form of a verb after it.

The majority of cars on the road have only one person in them.

2. 'most of'

Don't use 'the majority' when you are talking about an amount of something or part of something. Don't say, for example, 'The majority of the forest has been cut down'. Say 'Most of the forest has been cut down'.

Most of the food was good.

Katya did most of the work.

See most

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	majority - 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" bulk number, figure - the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals; "he had a number of chores to do"; "the number of parameters is small"; "the figure was about a thousand" minority - being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts; "when the vote was taken they were in the minority"; "he held a minority position"
	2.	majority - (elections) more than half of the votes absolute majority election - a vote to select the winner of a position or political office; "the results of the election will be announced tonight" relative quantity - a quantity relative to some purpose
	3.	majority - the age at which persons are considered competent to manage their own affairs legal age eld, age - a time of life (usually defined in years) at which some particular qualification or power arises; "she was now of school age"; "tall for his eld" adulthood, maturity - the period of time in your life after your physical growth has stopped and you are fully developed nonage, minority - any age prior to the legal age

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

majority

noun

1. most, more, mass, bulk, best part, better part, lion's share, preponderance, plurality, greater number The majority of our customers come from out of town.

2. margin, landslide They approved the move by a majority of ninety-nine.

3. adulthood, maturity, age of consent, seniority, manhood or womanhood Once you reach your majority you can do what you please.

Quotations
"One, on God's side, is a majority" [Wendell Phillips]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

أَغْلَبِيَةٌأغْلَبيَّهالأكثَرِيَّه

většina

flertalmajoritet

MehrheitÜberzahlErwachsenenalter

πλειοψηφίαπλειονότητα

mayoría

enemmistötäysi-ikäisyys

majorité

većina

nagykorúságtöbbség

meirihlutimeirihluti; yfirburîir

maggioranzamaggiore et...maggioritario

大部分

대다수

meerderheidmerendeel

flertallde fleste

większość

maioria

majoratmajoritate

большинство

večina

majoritet

ส่วนใหญ่

büyük çoğunlukçoğunlukoy çokluğu

phần lớn

多数大多数得票之差

majority

[məˈdʒɒrɪtɪ]

A. N

1. → mayoría f
a two-thirds majority → una mayoría de las dos terceras partes
they won by a majority → ganaron por mayoría
in the majority of cases → en la mayoría or la mayor parte de los casos
such people are in a majority → la mayoría de la gente es así, predomina la gente así
to be in a majority of three → formar parte de una mayoría de tres
the vast majority → la inmensa mayoría
the great majority of lecturers → la mayoría or la mayor parte de los conferenciantes

2. (Jur) to attain one's majority → llegar a la mayoría de edad

B. CPD majority decision N by a majority decision → por decisión mayoritaria or de la mayoría
majority interest N → interés m mayoritario
majority rule N → gobierno m mayoritario, gobierno m en mayoría
majority (share)holding N → accionariado m mayoritario
majority verdict N by a majority verdict → por fallo or veredicto mayoritario
majority vote N by a majority vote → por la mayoría de los votos

MAJORITY, MOST

Singular or plural verb?
When mayoría is the subject of a verb, the verb can be in the singular or the plural, depending on the context.

• When translating majority rather than most, put the verb in the singular if majority is seen as a unit rather than a collection of individuals:

The socialist majority voted against the four amendments La mayoría socialista votó en contra de las cuatro enmiendas

• If la mayoría is seen as a collection of individuals, particularly when it is followed by de + ((PLURAL NOUN)), the plural form of the verb is more common than the singular, though both are possible:

The majority still wear this uniform La mayoría siguen vistiendo or sigue vistiendo este uniforme Most scientists believe it is a mistake La mayoría de los científicos creen or cree que se trata de un error

• The plural form must be used when la mayoría or la mayoría de + ((PLURAL NOUN)) is followed by ser or estar + ((plural complement)):

Most of them are men La mayoría son hombres Most of the dead were students La mayoría de los muertos eran estudiantes Most of the children were black La mayoría de los niños eran negros

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

majority

[məˈdʒɒrɪti]

n

[people] → majorité f
to be in a majority → être en majorité
to be in the majority → être en majorité

the majority of (= most of) → la majorité de
the majority of my patients → la majorité de mes patients
the vast majority of ... → la quasi totalité de ...

[successful candidate, party, government] → majorité f
a majority of ...
Harris was elected with a majority of 15,479 → Harris a été élu à une majorité de 15 479 voix.

(= adulthood) → majorité f
to reach one's majority → atteindre sa majorité

modif [holding] → majoritaire; [view, vote] → majoritairemajority decision n → décision f à la majoritémajority opinion n (US) → arrêt m rendu à la majorité (des votes des juges)majority rule n → règle f de la majoritémajority shareholding n → participation f majoritaire, participation f de contrôlemajority verdict n [jury] → verdict m rendu à la majoritémajor key n → ton m majeurmajor league n (US) (SPORT) → première division fmajor-league [ˌmeɪdʒə^rˈliːg]

modif [team, baseball, game] → de première division

adj (= top-rank) → de premier ordre

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

majority

n

→ Mehrheit f; the majority of cases → die Mehrheit or Mehrzahl der Fälle; to be in a or the majority → in der Mehrzahl sein; to be in a majority of 3 → eine Mehrheit von 3 Stimmen haben; to have/get a majority → die Mehrheit haben/bekommen; to have a majority of 10 → eine Mehrheit von 10 Stimmen haben; what was his majority? → wie groß war seine Mehrheit?; a two-thirds majority → die Zweidrittelmehrheit; by a small or narrow majority → mit knapper Mehrheit

(Jur) → Volljährigkeit f, → Mündigkeit f; to reach the age of majority → volljährig or mündig werden

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majority

:

majority decision

n → Mehrheitsbeschluss m

majority holding

n (Fin) → Mehrheitsbeteiligung f

majority rule

n → Mehrheitsregierung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

majority

[məˈdʒɒrɪtɪ]

1. n

a. → maggioranza
the majority of people → la maggior parte della gente
elected by a majority of two → eletto con una maggioranza di due voti
to be in the majority → essere in maggioranza

b. (Law) the age of majority → la maggiore età

2. adj (verdict) → maggioritario/a; (government) → di maggioranza

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

major

(ˈmeidʒə) adjective

great, or greater, in size, importance etc. major and minor roads; a major discovery. groot عَظيم، كَبير، رَئيسي важен principal velký; větší bedeutend stor; vigtig μείζων, πολύ σημαντικός mayor, principal tähtsam اصلی pää- majeurגדול, חשוב बड़ा, मुख्य velik, važan nagyobb besar mikill, helstur, aðal-; mikilfenglegur maggiore, più importante 重要な 큰, 중요한 pagrindinis, didesnis, svarbesnis lielākais; nozīmīgākais besar hoofd-, belangrijk stor, hoved-, viktiggłówny, większy اصلى او اساسى principal mare, major больший; главный; крупный veľký; väčší pomemben; pomembnejši glavni större, betydande สำคัญมาก büyük 重要的，較大的 більший; важливіший بڑا، اہم chủ yếu; lớn 重要的，较多的

noun

1. (often abbreviated to Maj. when written) the rank next below lieutenant-colonel. majoor رائِد: رُتْبَه عَسْكَرِيَّه майор major major der Major major ταγματάρχηςcomandante major درجه سرگردی قدیم majuri commandant/-ante רַב-סֶרֶן मेजर major, bojnik őrnagy mayor majór maggiore 陸軍少佐 육군 소령 majoras majors mejar majoormajormajor عمده،ډير major maior майор major major major major พันตรี binbaşı 少校 майор لیفٹننٹ کرنل سے نیچے کا افسر thiếu tá 少校

2. (American) the subject in which you specialize at college or university. a major in physics; Her major is psychology. hoofvak المَوضوع الرَّئيسي في التَّخَصُّص специалност formação hlavní zaměření (studia) das Hauptfach hovedfag ειδίκευση asignatura principal, especialidad peaaine, eriala رشته pääaine matière principale מִקצוֹעַ רָאשִי मुख्य, प्रमुख विषय glavni predmet főtantárgy, szaktárgy mata pelajaran pokok (materia principale scelta all'università) 専攻科目 전공 pagrindinis specializacijos dalykas studiju specializācijas priekšmets mata pelajaran utama hoofdvak hovedfag i et studium główny kierunek studiów څانګه رشته، основной предмет специализации hlavný študijný odbor, špecializácia glavni predmet glavni predmet huvudämne วิชาเอก ana dal, mezun olunan dal 主修 спеціалізація, профілююча дисципліна طالب علم کا انتخاب کردہ خصوصی مطالعے کا مضمون chuyên đề 主修，专业

verb

(with in) (American) to study a certain subject in which you specialize at college or university. She is majoring in philosophy. jou hoofvak is يَتَخَصَّص في موضوع رئيسي специализирам formar specializovat se auf das Hauptfach spezielisieren have ... som hovedfag παίρνω ειδίκευση (π.χ. στο κολέγιο) especializarse en peaainena õppima, eriala õppima درس خواندن opiskella pääaineenaan se spécialiser en לִלמוֹד כְּמִקצוֹעַ רָאשִי मुख्य विषय की पढ़ाई करना specijalizirati főtantárgynak választ mempelajari sesuatu sebagai mata pelajaran pokok (studiare come materia principale all'università) 専攻する 전공하다 specializuotis specializēties studiju priekšmetā major als hoofdvak studeren ta som hovedfagstudiować سبق ويل специализироваться špecializovať sa (na), zvoliť si ako hlavný odbor (čo) imeti za glavni predmet studirati kao glavni predmet läsa som huvudämne าขาวิชาเอก belirtilen dalda eğitim görmek 主修 спеціалізуватися کسی مضمون کا خصوصی مطالعہ کرنا chuyên về (môn gì đó) 主修

maˈjority (məˈdʒo-) – plural maˈjorities – noun

1. the greater number. the majority of people. meerderheid, meeste الأكثَرِيَّه мнозинство maioria většina die Mehrheit flertal; majoritet πλειοψηφίαmayoría enamik اکثریت suurin osa majoritéרוב अधिकतर većina többség mayoritas meirihluti maggioranza 大多数 대다수, 대부분 dauguma, didesnioji dalis vairākums majoriti meerderheidflertall, de flestewiększość اكثريت maioria majoritate большая часть väčšina večina većina majoritet ส่วนใหญ่ çoğunluk 大多數 більшість اکثریت đa số 大多数

2. the difference between a greater and a smaller number. The Democratic Party won by/with a majority of six hundred votes. meerderheid أغْلَبيَّه разлика maioria většina die Mehrheit flertal πλειοψηφίαmayoría ülekaal, enamus اکثریت ero majoritéרוב अधिक većina többség selisih meirihluti; yfirburðir maggioranza 票差 득표차 dauguma vairākums, pārsvars beza meerderheidflertallwiększość اكثريت maioria majoritate большинство väčšina večina većina majoritet, röstövervikt เสียงข้างมาก oy çokluğu 得票之差 більшість بیشتر اور کمتر کے بیچ کا فرق được đa số phiếu 得票之差

ˌmajor-ˈgeneral noun

(often abbreviated to Maj.-Gen. when written) in the British army, (a person of) the rank next below lieutenant-general. majoor-generaal لِواء: رُتْبَه عَسْكَرِيَّه майор-генерал general generálmajor der Generalmajor generalmajor υποστράτηγος general de división kindralmajor سر لشگر kenraalimajuri général/-ale de division אלוף मेजर जनरल general bojnik vezérőrnagy mayor jenderal undirhershöfðingi maggior generale 陸軍少将 육군 소장 generolas majoras ģenerālmajors mejar jeneral generaal-majoorgeneralmajor generał-major (odp. generała dywizji) سر لشكر،منصب ايست در ارتش بريتانيا general генерал-майор generálmajor general major major-general generalmajor พลตรี tümgeneral 陸軍少將 генерал-майор لیفٹننٹ جنرل سے نیچے کا عہدہ thiếu tướng 陆军少将

the age of majority

legal adulthood (in Britain, eighteen years of age). He has not yet reached the age of majority. meerderjarigheid سِن الرُّشْد пълнолетие maioridade zletilost die Volljährigkeit myndighedsalder ενηλικίωσηmayoría de edad täisiga سن بلوغ täysi-ikäisyys majoritéבגרות वयस्कता की आयु punoljetnost nagykorúság tingkat dewasa lögræðisaldur maggiore età 成年 (법률상의) 성인 pilnametystė pilngadība cukup umur meerderjarigheidmyndighetsalderpełnoletność د بلوغ عمر maioridade majorat совершеннолетие plnoletosť polnoletnost punoletstvo myndighetsålder อายุที่บรรลุนิติภาวะ yasal yetişkinlik 成年 повноліття سن بالغ tuổi thành niên 成年

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

majority

→ أَغْلَبِيَةٌ většina flertal Mehrheit πλειοψηφία mayoría enemmistö majorité većina maggioranza 大部分 대다수 meerderheid flertall większość maioria большинство majoritet ส่วนใหญ่ büyük çoğunluk phần lớn 多数

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