/ maɪˈnɒrəti; NAmE -ˈnɔːr-; -ˈnɑːr-/ noun ( pl. -ies )
1.
[ sing.+ sing./pl. v . ] the smaller part of a group; less than half of the people or things in a large group :
Only a small minority of students is / are interested in politics these days.
minority shareholders in the bank
OPP majority
2.
[ C ] a small group within a community or country that is different because of race, religion, language, etc. :
the rights of ethnic / racial minorities
minority languages
a large German-speaking minority in the east of the country
( NAmE )
The school is 95 per cent minority (= 95 per cent of children are not white Americans but from different groups) .
( NAmE )
minority neighborhoods (= where no or few white people live)
3.
( law ) the state of being under the age at which you are legally an adult
•
IDIOMS
- be in a / the minority
- be in a minority of one
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 15th cent. (in sense 3): from French minorité or medieval Latin minoritas , from Latin minor smaller.