/ məˈdʒɒrəti; NAmE -ˈdʒɔːr-; -ˈdʒɑːr-/ noun ( pl. -ies )
1.
[ sing.+ sing./pl. v . ] majority (of sb/sth) the largest part of a group of people or things :
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.
a majority decision (= one that is decided by what most people want)
In the nursing profession, women are in a / the majority .
OPP minority
—see also moral majority , the silent majority
2.
[ C ] majority (over sb) ( BrE ) 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 :
She was elected by / with a majority of 749.
They had a large majority over their nearest rivals.
a clear (= large) majority
The government does not have an overall majority (= more members than all the other parties added together) .
The resolution was carried by a huge majority.
—see also absolute majority
3.
[ C ] ( NAmE ) 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
4.
[ U ] ( law ) the age at which you are legally considered to be an adult
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (denoting superiority): from French majorité , from medieval Latin majoritas , from Latin major , comparative of magnus great.