MAJOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Major mean? 

• MAJOR (noun)
  The noun MAJOR has 4 senses:

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

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

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

4. the principal field of study of a student at a university

  Familiarity information: MAJOR used as a noun is uncommon.

• MAJOR (adjective)
  The adjective MAJOR has 8 senses:

1. of greater importance or stature or rank

2. greater in scope or effect

3. greater in number or size or amount

4. of the field of academic study in which one concentrates or specializes

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

6. of greater seriousness or danger

7. of full legal age

8. of the elder of two boys with the same family name

  Familiarity information: MAJOR used as an adjective is common.

• MAJOR (verb)
  The verb MAJOR has 1 sense:

1. have as one's principal field of study

  Familiarity information: MAJOR used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MAJOR (noun)

Sense 1

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 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

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

Instance hypernyms:

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

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Context example:

she is a linguistics major

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:

The principal field of study of a student at a university

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

her major is linguistics

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)

• MAJOR (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of greater importance or stature or rank

Context example:

major highways

Similar:

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

Antonym:

minor (of lesser importance or stature or rank)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Greater in scope or effect

Context example:

a major misunderstanding

Antonym:

minor (lesser in scope or effect)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Greater in number or size or amount

Context example:

a major portion of the winnings

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 4

Meaning:

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

Context example:

his major field was mathematics

Antonym:

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

Sense 5

Meaning:

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

Context example:

the key of D major

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 6

Meaning:

Of greater seriousness or danger

Context example:

a major illness

Antonym:

minor (of lesser seriousness or danger)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Of full legal age

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 8

Meaning:

Of the elder of two boys with the same family name

Context example:

Jones major

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)

• MAJOR (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they major    ... he / she / it majors   
Past simple: majored   
Past participle: majored   
-ing form: majoring   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have as one's principal field of study

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

She is majoring in linguistics

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)

 Context examples 

If you take a job or promotion at this time, it will represent a major move ahead.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

It includes the major salivary glands - sublingual, submandibular, and parotid glands, as well as numerous minor glands.

(Acinar Salivary Gland System, NCI Thesaurus)

FLT3, CSF1R and FLT3 are overexpressed or mutated in many cancer cell types and play major roles in tumor cell proliferation and metastasis.

(Multitargeted Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor PLX3397, NCI Thesaurus)

It is the major constituent of natural gas.

(Methane, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

The alpha actins are found in muscle tissues and are a major constituent of the contractile apparatus.

(Actin, Gamma 2, NCI Thesaurus/LocusLink)

The outbreak is the first in West Africa and the first to affect major cities.

(Genetics of the 2014 Ebola Outbreak, NIH)

A major advantage when it comes to microalgae is the fact that it is not seasonal and its production does not depend on specific conditions, like soil properties.

(Petrobras considers producing biodiesel from microalgae, Agência Brasil)

Major depression represents one of the world's most serious public health problems.

(Forty-Four Genomic Variants Linked to Major Depression, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The JAK-STAT signaling pathway is a major mediator of cytokine activity and is often dysregulated in a variety of tumor cell types.

(Momelotinib, NCI Thesaurus)

Antimicrobial resistance has become a major threat to public health globally with approximately 700,000 people a year dying from antimicrobial-resistant infections.

(Toothpaste and Hand Wash Are Causing Antibiotic Resistance, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)