majority
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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.
[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.
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
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new 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"
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
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
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"
|
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.
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]
"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
enemmistötäysi-ikäisyys
većina
nagykorúságtöbbség
meirihlutimeirihluti; yfirburîir
大部分
대다수
majoratmajoritate
večina
majoritet
ส่วนใหญ่
büyük çoğunlukçoğunlukoy çokluğu
phần lớn
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
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
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.
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
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 ...
the majority of my patients → la majorité de mes patients
the vast majority of ... → la quasi totalité de ...
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 [ˌmeɪdʒərˈliːg]
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
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
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.
noun
1. (often abbreviated to Maj. when written) the rank next below lieutenant-colonel.
2. (American) the subject in which you specialize at college or university. a major in physics; Her major is psychology.
verb
(with in) (American) to study a certain subject in which you specialize at college or university. She is majoring in philosophy.
maˈjority (məˈdʒo-) – plural maˈjorities – noun
1. the greater number. the majority of people.
2. the difference between a greater and a smaller number. The Democratic Party won by/with a majority of six hundred votes.
ˌmajor-ˈgeneral noun
(often abbreviated to Maj.-Gen. when written) in the British army, (a person of) the rank next below lieutenant-general.
the age of majority
legal adulthood (in Britain, eighteen years of age). He has not yet reached the age of majority.
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
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009