Library / English Dictionary

MAJOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

The principal field of study of a student at a university

Example:

her major is linguistics

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("major" is a kind of...):

bailiwick; discipline; field; field of study; study; subject; subject area; subject field (a branch of knowledge)

Derivation:

major (have as one's principal field of study)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A commissioned military officer in the United States Army or Air Force or Marines; below lieutenant colonel and above captain

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("major" is a kind of...):

commissioned military officer (a commissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marine Corps)

Domain category:

armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A university student who is studying a particular field as the principal subject

Example:

she is a linguistics major

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("major" is a kind of...):

educatee; pupil; student (a learner who is enrolled in an educational institution)

Derivation:

major (have as one's principal field of study)

Sense 4

Meaning:

British statesman who was prime minister from 1990 until 1997 (born in 1943)

Synonyms:

John Major; John R. Major; John Roy Major; Major

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

national leader; solon; statesman (a man who is a respected leader in national or international affairs)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Greater in number or size or amount

Example:

a major portion of the winnings

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

better (more than half)

Attribute:

bulk; majority (the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part)

Antonym:

minor (inferior in number or size or amount)

Derivation:

majority (the property resulting from being or relating to the greater in number of two parts; the main part)

majority ((elections) more than half of the votes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Greater in scope or effect

Example:

a major misunderstanding

Classified under:

Adjectives

Antonym:

minor (lesser in scope or effect)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Of full legal age

Classified under:

Adjectives

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Antonym:

minor (not of legal age)

Derivation:

majority (the age at which persons are considered competent to manage their own affairs)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(of a scale or mode) having half steps between the third and fourth degrees and the seventh and eighth degrees

Example:

the key of D major

Classified under:

Adjectives

Domain category:

music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)

Antonym:

minor ((of a scale or mode) having half steps between the second and third degrees, and (usually) the fifth and sixth degrees, and the seventh and eighth degrees)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Of the field of academic study in which one concentrates or specializes

Example:

his major field was mathematics

Classified under:

Adjectives

Antonym:

minor (of your secondary field of academic concentration or specialization)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Of greater importance or stature or rank

Example:

major highways

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

leading; prima; star; starring; stellar (indicating the most important performer or role)

Antonym:

minor (of lesser importance or stature or rank)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Of greater seriousness or danger

Example:

a major illness

Classified under:

Adjectives

Antonym:

minor (of lesser seriousness or danger)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Of the elder of two boys with the same family name

Example:

Jones major

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

senior (older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service)

Domain region:

Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)

 III. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have as one's principal field of study

Example:

She is majoring in linguistics

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "major" is one way to...):

study (be a student; follow a course of study; be enrolled at an institute of learning)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

major (the principal field of study of a student at a university)

major (a university student who is studying a particular field as the principal subject)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The hydrochloride salt form of molindone, a dihydroindolone compound with antipsychotic and anti-schizophrenic properties not structurally related to other major tranquilizers.

(Molindone Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)

Mitozolomide undergoes ring opening upon the nucleophilic attack at C-4 by an activated molecule of water within the major groove of DNA.

(Mitozolomide, NCI Thesaurus)

Any of the 12 major divisions of the year, each lasting approximately 30 days.

(Month of the Year, NCI Thesaurus)

Now, with this current research, they have developed a further novel application that would address the major problem of widespread electric-scooter use in cities.

(Scientists design “smart” asphalts with magnetic materials for safer electric scooters, University of Granada)

"Understanding how marshes might become more resilient has major implications for understanding coastal response to sea level rise."

(High carbon dioxide can create 'shrinking stems' in marshes, National Science Foundation)

The alpha and beta tubulins represent the major components of microtubules, while gamma tubulin plays a critical role in the nucleation of microtubule assembly.

(Microtubule, NCI Thesaurus/LocusLink)

Dead zones are a major water quality issue with an estimated total of more than 550 occurring annually worldwide.

(2015 Gulf of Mexico dead zone ‘above average’, NOAA)

This allele, which encodes major vault protein, is involved in vault ribonucleoprotein complex structure and function.

(MVP wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

I heard from Major Prendergast how you saved him in the Tankerville Club scandal.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Amyloid-beta (Abeta), a major component of senile plaques, has various pathological effects on cell and organelle function.

(Alzheimer's Disease Pathway KEGG, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)