MINOR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does minor mean? 

• MINOR (noun)
  The noun MINOR has 1 sense:

1. a young person of either sex

  Familiarity information: MINOR used as a noun is very rare.

• MINOR (adjective)
  The adjective MINOR has 10 senses:

1. of lesser importance or stature or rank

2. lesser in scope or effect

3. inferior in number or size or amount

4. (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

5. not of legal age

6. of lesser seriousness or danger

7. of your secondary field of academic concentration or specialization

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

9. warranting only temporal punishment

10. relatively moderate, limited, or small

  Familiarity information: MINOR used as an adjective is familiar.

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

1. have as one's secondary field of study

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

 Dictionary entry details 

• MINOR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A young person of either sex

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

child; fry; kid; minor; nestling; nipper; shaver; small fry; tiddler; tike; tyke; youngster

Context example:

'tiddler' is a British term for youngster

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

juvenile; juvenile person (a young person, not fully developed)

Meronyms (parts of "minor"):

child's body (the body of a human child)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "minor"):

peanut (a young child who is small for his age)

street child; waif (a homeless child especially one forsaken or orphaned)

urchin (poor and often mischievous city child)

bambino; toddler; tot; yearling (a young child)

sprog (a child)

silly (a word used for misbehaving children)

kindergartener; kindergartner; preschooler (a child who attends a preschool or kindergarten)

poster child (a child afflicted by some disease or deformity whose picture is used on posters to raise money for charitable purposes)

picaninny; piccaninny; pickaninny ((ethnic slur) offensive term for a Black child)

bairn (a child: son or daughter)

orphan (a child who has lost both parents)

kiddie; kiddy (informal term for a young child)

imp; monkey; rapscallion; rascal; scalawag; scallywag; scamp (one who is playfully mischievous)

foster-child; foster child; fosterling (a child who is raised by foster parents)

child prodigy; infant prodigy; wonder child (a prodigy whose talents are recognized at an early age)

changeling (a child secretly exchanged for another in infancy)

buster (a robust child)

• MINOR (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of lesser importance or stature or rank

Context example:

minor back roads

Similar:

insignificant; peanut (of little importance or influence or power; of minor status)

secondary (not of major importance)

Antonym:

major (of greater importance or stature or rank)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Lesser in scope or effect

Context example:

a minor disturbance

Antonym:

major (greater in scope or effect)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Inferior in number or size or amount

Context example:

Ursa Minor

Attribute:

minority (being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts)

Antonym:

major (greater in number or size or amount)

Derivation:

minority (being or relating to the smaller in number of two parts)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(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

Context example:

in B flat minor

Domain category:

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

Antonym:

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

Sense 5

Meaning:

Not of legal age

Synonyms:

minor; nonaged; underage

Context example:

minor children

Domain category:

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

Antonym:

major (of full legal age)

Derivation:

minority (any age prior to the legal age)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Of lesser seriousness or danger

Context example:

a minor tropical disturbance

Antonym:

major (of greater seriousness or danger)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Of your secondary field of academic concentration or specialization

Antonym:

major (of the field of academic study in which one concentrates or specializes)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Of the younger of two boys with the same family name

Context example:

Jones minor

Similar:

junior (younger; lower in rank; shorter 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)

Sense 9

Meaning:

Warranting only temporal punishment

Synonyms:

minor; venial

Context example:

venial sin

Similar:

pardonable (admitting of being pardoned)

Domain category:

divinity; theology (the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth)

Sense 10

Meaning:

Relatively moderate, limited, or small

Synonyms:

minor; modest; pocket-size; pocket-sized; small; small-scale

Context example:

a pocket-size country

Similar:

limited (small in range or scope)

• MINOR (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have as one's secondary field of study

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Context example:

in collee she minored in mathematics

Hypernyms (to "minor" 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

 Context examples 

A non-metastasizing neoplasm that arises from the minor salivary glands.

(Benign Minor Salivary Gland Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

A squamous cell carcinoma that affects the minor salivary glands.

(Minor Salivary Gland Squamous Cell Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

Allergies can range from minor to severe.

(Allergy, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

The device developed in the current work is based on widely-used semiconductors with some minor modifications.

(Quantum state of single electrons controlled by ‘surfing’ on sound waves, University of Cambridge)

An adenoid cystic carcinoma arising from the minor salivary glands in the anterior tongue.

(Anterior Tongue Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A mucous containing cyst arising from the minor salivary glands in the oral cavity.

(Mucous Cyst, NCI Thesaurus)

Imaging tests showed that the woman had only minor neurodegeneration.

(Unique case of disease resistance reveals possible Alzheimer’s treatment, National Institutes of Health)

A benign or malignant neoplasm that affects the minor salivary glands.

(Minor Salivary Gland Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

A non-metastasizing neoplasm that arises from the major or minor salivary glands.

(Benign Salivary Gland Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus)

An adenocarcinoma that arises from the minor salivary glands.

(Minor Salivary Gland Adenocarcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)