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major definition

ma·jor (mā′jər)

adjective

    1. greater in size, amount, number, or extent
    2. greater in importance or rank
  2. of full legal age
  3. constituting the majority: said of a part, etc.
  4. ☆ Educ. designating or of a field of study in which a student specializes and receives a degree
  5. Music
    1. designating an imperfect interval greater than the corresponding minor by a semitone
    2. characterized by major intervals, scales, etc. in a major key
    3. designating a triad having a major third
    4. based on the scale pattern of the major mode

Etymology: ME maiour < L major, compar. of magnus, great: see magni-

intransitive verb

☆ Educ. to pursue a major subject or field of study; specialize to major in physics

noun

  1. Etymology: < majorthe

    a superior in some class or group

  2. Etymology: Fr

    U.S. Mil. an officer ranking above a captain and below a lieutenant colonel
  3. ☆ Educ.
    1. a major subject or field of study
    2. a student specializing in a specified subject a music major
  4. Law a person who has reached full legal age
  5. Music a major interval, key, etc.
major Idioms

the Majors

☆ Baseball the Major Leagues
Major definition

Ma·jor (mā′jər)

Major, John 1943-; Brit. politician: prime minister (1990-97)

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

major Synonyms

major

modif.

  1. Greater

    higher, larger, dominant, primary, upper, exceeding, extreme, ultra, over, above; see also better 2, superior.

  2. Important

    significant, main, influential; see important 1, 2, principal.


major

n.

field of study, subject, field, program, area; see also field 4.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

major Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • win: Now all he needs to do is win two majors in a season, as Inkster has done.

Preposition: at

  • end: Followed upstream of more deposits but less major at top end of wood.

Modifies a noun

  • problem: Diabetes is becoming a major health problem in many parts of the world.

Modifying Another Word

  • fairly: While on the surface this appears a relatively trivial issue it has fairly major implications for the practical implementation of the qualifications.

Preposition: in

  • season: Now all he needs to do is win two majors in a season, as Inkster has done.
major usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

major quotes

In the spacious highways of books major or minor, each poet is allowed the stride that will get him where he wants to go if,God help him, he can hit that stride and keep it.

-Sandburg, Carl

All poets who, when reading from their own works, experience a choked feeling, are major. For that matter, all poets who read from their own works are major, whether they choke or not.

-White, E(lwyn) B(rooks)

major quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"major." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/major>

APA Style

major. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/major

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