noun
1 most
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , great , huge , large , overwhelming , significant , sizeable , solid , strong , substantial , vast
▪ silent
▪
The march was by the silent ~ who oppose terrorism.
▪ moral
▪ black , white
▪
countries which have an English-speaking white ~
▪ ethnic
VERB + MAJORITY
▪ compose , constitute , form , make up
▪
English speakers form the ~ of the population.
▪ join
▪
He joined the ~ in criticizing the government's reforms.
MAJORITY + NOUN
▪ community , culture , group , population
▪ language , religion
▪ opinion , view
▪ decision
▪ owner , shareholder
▪ ownership
▪ interest , share , stake
▪
The French company holds a ~ stake in the retail chain.
PREPOSITION
▪ in the ~
▪
In the general population, right-handed people are in the ~.
PHRASES
▪ in the ~ of cases
▪
In the vast ~ of cases, customers get their money back.
2 in an election
ADJECTIVE
▪ big , huge , large , massive ( esp. BrE ), overwhelming , solid , strong , substantial
▪ clear , comfortable , decisive ( esp. BrE )
▪ bare , narrow , slender ( esp. BrE ), slight , slim , small , tiny ( esp. BrE )
▪ razor-thin ( AmE ), wafer-thin ( BrE )
▪ 160-seat , etc.
▪ two-to-one ( BrE ), two-thirds , etc.
▪ absolute , outright , overall
▪
Although they are the biggest single party, they don't have an outright ~.
▪ popular
▪ simple
▪ working ( esp. BrE )
▪
To govern effectively, he will need a working ~ in Congress.
▪
the first Labour government with a clear working ~ in the House
▪ electoral
▪ legislative ( esp. AmE )
▪ parliamentary
▪ government ( BrE )
▪ Labour , Republican , etc.
▪ necessary
VERB + MAJORITY
▪ carry , command , have , hold
▪ achieve , capture , gain , garner , get , obtain , secure , win
▪
They failed to win the requisite two-thirds ~.
▪ build
▪
If the Republicans want to build a ~, they need the north-east.
▪ increase
▪
Republicans increased their ~ in both the House and the Senate.
▪ defend ( BrE ), maintain , retain
▪ lose
▪ overturn ( esp. BrE )
▪ indicate , show
MAJORITY + NOUN
▪ government , rule
▪ leader , whip
▪ party
▪ decision
▪ vote , voting ( esp. BrE )
▪ support
▪ position , status
▪ control
PREPOSITION
▪ by a ~
▪
They won by a huge ~.
▪ ~ against
▪
Latest opinion polls have a comfortable ~ against the reform.
▪ ~ in
▪
a ~ in the Senate
▪ ~ in favour/favor of
▪
Opinion polls indicated a two-thirds ~ in favour/favor of ratification of the treaty.
▪ ~ over
▪
He has a decisive ~ over his main rivals.