ma ‧ jor ‧ i ‧ ty S2 W1 AC /məˈdʒɒrəti, məˈdʒɒrɪti $ məˈdʒɔː-, məˈdʒɑː-/ BrE AmE noun ( plural majorities )
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: majorité , from Latin major ; ⇨ ↑ major 1 ]
1 . MOST PEOPLE OR THINGS [singular, also + plural verb] most of the people or things in a group OPP minority
majority of
The majority of workers find it quite hard to live on the amount of money they earn.
great/vast/overwhelming majority of something (=almost all of a group)
In the vast majority of cases the disease is fatal.
be in the majority (=form the largest group)
In this city, Muslims are in the majority.
⇨ ↑ silent majority
GRAMMAR
When using majority before 'of' and a plural noun, use a plural verb after it:
▪
The vast majority of patients are elderly.
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say most (of) rather than the majority of :
▪
Most workers find it hard to live on the money they earn.
▪
Most of us agreed with him.
2 . MOST VOTES [countable] if one person or group wins a majority in an election, they win more votes than other people or groups
majority of 50/100 etc
He won by a majority of 500.
The Labour Party won a huge majority at the last general election.
clear/overall/absolute majority (=a situation in which one party wins more votes in an election than all the other parties)
The party won an absolute majority in Portugal in 1987.
small/narrow majority
The government gained only a narrow majority, with 151 votes against 144.
Labour/Conservative etc majority
The Labour majority was reduced to just 15 seats at the last election.
3 . majority vote/decision/verdict etc a vote or decision in which more people vote for something than vote against it:
The committee takes decisions by majority vote.
The jury found him guilty by a majority verdict.
4 . majority stake/shareholding etc when one person or group owns a bigger share of a company than other people or groups and so is able to control what happens to the company:
Alex Golding held a majority shareholding in Golding plc.
5 . BECOMING AN ADULT [uncountable] British English law the age when someone legally becomes an adult OPP minority
reach majority/the age of majority
He became a partner in the family firm on reaching his majority.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ verbs
▪ have/hold a majority
The Democratic party has a majority in the Senate.
▪ win a majority
The Conservative Party won a large majority.
▪ secure a majority (=win a majority)
They failed to secure a majority.
▪ get/gain/receive a majority
If no one gets an overall majority, the vote is repeated.
▪ command a majority (=have a majority)
They were one seat short of being able to command a majority in parliament.
▪ increase a majority (=get more votes than you had before)
Labour increased its majority in the area.
▪ lose a majority
The Republicans lost their narrow majority in Congress at the midterm elections.
▪ retain a majority formal (=keep a majority)
They were able to retain an absolute majority of seats.
▪ defend a majority (=try not to lose it)
He is defending a majority of 400 against his Labour opponent.
▪ overturn a majority (=win a majority that previously belonged to someone else)
She hoped to overturn a Tory majority of 2,221.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + majority
▪ a large majority
Parliament voted by a large majority in favour of the ban.
▪ a huge majority (=a very big majority)
Gone are the days of huge majorities and easy victories.
▪ a small majority
Their small majority made them worried about winning the next election.
▪ a slim/narrow majority (=a very small majority)
The proposal was passed by a slim majority.
▪ an overall majority (=more votes than anyone else)
What happens if no candidate receives an overall majority?
▪ an overwhelming majority (=a large majority)
The resolution was passed by an overwhelming majority.
▪ an absolute/outright/clear majority (=a majority that has been won by more than half the votes)
There was no party with an absolute majority in the House of Commons.
▪ a simple majority (=a majority that has been won by most of the votes)
A simple majority of the people at the meeting were in favour of the changes.
▪ a two-thirds/2:1/three to one etc majority
A two-thirds majority in both Houses of Congress is needed to overturn a presidential veto.
▪ a Labour/Democratic/Tory etc majority
Republican majorities were elected in both Houses of Congress that year.
▪ a parliamentary majority (=one that has enough seats in parliament to control it)
Labour increased its parliamentary majority.
■ majority + NOUN
▪ a majority vote
The majority vote carries the resolution.
▪ the majority party (=the party with the most seats in a parliament)
At that time, Labour was the majority party in Parliament.
▪ majority support (=votes or support given by the most number of people)
a solution that will command majority support in the House