Majority People Number Votes Wins Noun Məˈdʒɒrəti Məˈdʒɔːrəti

• the majority of people interviewed prefer tv to radio.
• the majority was/were in favour of banning smoking.
• this treatment is not available in the vast majority of hospitals.
• the overwhelming majority of participants were men.

majority

1. the largest part of a group of people or things
• OPPOSITE minority
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/minority
• The majority of people interviewed prefer TV to radio.
• The majority was/were in favour of banning smoking.
• This treatment is not available in the vast majority of hospitals.
• The overwhelming majority of participants were men.
• to represent/form/constitute/comprise the majority of somebody/something
• In the nursing profession, women are in the majority.
• The drug provided significant pain relief in a majority of cases.
• a majority decision (= one that is decided by what most people want)
• We make decisions by majority vote.
• the majority opinion/view

Extra Examples

• English speakers form the majority of the population.
• He joined the majority in criticizing the government's reforms.
• In the general population, right-handed people are in the majority.
• Opinion polls show that a majority supports a change in the law.
• The French company holds a majority stake in the retail chain.
• The leader of the majority party in the assembly serves as the prime minister.
2. the number of votes by which one political party wins an election; the number of votes by which one side in a discussion, etc. wins
• SEE ALSO absolute majority
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/absolute-majority
• She was elected by a majority of 749.
• The resolution was carried by a huge majority.
• They had a large majority over their nearest rivals.
• They have a clear majority (= large majority) in Parliament.
• to win/get/gain/secure a majority

Extra Examples

• Republicans increased their majority in both the House and the Senate.
• They failed to win the requisite two-thirds majority.
• To govern effectively, he will need a working majority in Congress.
3. the difference between the number of votes given to the candidate who wins the election and the total number of votes of all the other candidates
• SEE ALSO plurality
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/plurality
• Without this shift, Kerry would have had a popular majority of a million votes.
4. the age at which you are legally considered to be an adult
• The age of majority in Britain was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1970.

Word Origin

• mid 16th cent. (denoting superiority): from French majorité, from medieval Latin majoritas, from Latin major, comparative of magnus ‘great’.