majority

/məˈdʒɑrəɾi/

/məˈdʒɔrɪti/

Other forms: majorities

Majority means “most of,” or the biggest part. Does the majority of what owls eat — mice, rats, squirrels, moles — sound appetizing to you? If not, you’re probably in the majority of people.

In an election, victory usually goes to whoever wins the majority of votes, or more than half of them. The opposite of majority is minority. A majority of the more than one billion Roman Catholics in the world live in Latin America; a small minority of all Roman Catholics live in Asia.

Definitions of majority

1. noun

   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”

   synonyms: bulk

   antonyms:

   minority

   being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts

   type of:

   figure, number

   the property possessed by a sum or total or indefinite quantity of units or individuals
2. noun

   (elections) more than half of the votes
   synonyms: absolute majority

   type of:

   relative quantity

   a quantity relative to some purpose
3. noun

   the age at which persons are considered competent to manage their own affairs
   synonyms: legal age

   antonyms:

   minority

   any age prior to the legal age

   type of:

   age, eld

   a time of life (usually defined in years) at which some particular qualification or power arises