MAJORITY


Meaning of MAJORITY in English

■ noun ( plural majorities )

1》 the greater number.

2》 Brit. the number by which the votes cast for one party or candidate exceed those for the next.

↘ US the number by which votes for one candidate are more than those for all other candidates together.

3》 the age when a person is legally a full adult, usually either 18 or 21.

4》 the rank or office of a major.

Origin

C16 (denoting superiority): from Fr. majorité , from med. L. majoritas , from L. major (see major ).

Usage

In its main sense, ‘the greater number’, ~ should be used with countable nouns: the ~ of cases . Use with uncountable nouns to mean ‘the greatest part’ ( she ate the ~ of the meal ) should be avoided in standard English.

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.