dominant

American  

[dom-uh-nuhnt] / ˈdɒm ə nənt /

adjective

1. ruling, governing, or controlling; having or exerting authority or influence.

   dominant in the chain of command.

   Synonyms:

   principal, prevailing

2. occupying or being in a commanding or elevated position.

3. predominant; main; major; chief.

   Corn is the dominant crop of Iowa.

4. Genetics. of or relating to a dominant.

5. Music. pertaining to or based on the dominant.

   the dominant chord.

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noun

• dominants
  plural

1. Genetics.

   1. the one of a pair of alternative alleles that masks the effect of the other when both are present in the same cell or organism.

   2. the trait or character determined by such an allele.

2. Informal, dom.  the participant in a BDSM sexual encounter or relationship to whom power and control are transferred.

3. Music. the fifth tone of a diatonic scale.

4. Ecology. any of one or more types of plants, or sometimes animals, that by virtue of abundance, size, or habits exert so important an influence on the conditions of an area as to determine, to a great extent, what other organisms can live there.

dominant British  

/ ˈdɒmɪnənt /

adjective

1. having primary control, authority, or influence; governing; ruling

2. predominant or primary

   the dominant topic of the day

3. occupying a commanding position

4. genetics Compare recessive

   1. (of an allele) producing the same phenotype in the organism irrespective of whether the allele of the same gene is identical or dissimilar

   2. (of a character) controlled by such a gene

5. music of or relating to the fifth degree of a scale

6. ecology (of a plant or animal species within a community) more prevalent than any other species and determining the appearance and composition of the community

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noun

1. genetics

   1. a dominant allele or character

   2. an organism having such an allele or character

2. music

   1. the fifth degree of a scale and the second in importance after the tonic

   2. a key or chord based on this

3. ecology a dominant plant or animal in a community

dominant Scientific  

/ dŏm′ə-nənt /

1. Relating to the form of a gene that expresses a trait, such as hair color, in an individual organism. The dominant form of a gene overpowers the counterpart, or recessive, form located on the other of a pair of chromosomes.

2. Relating to the trait expressed by such a gene.

3. See more at inheritance Compare recessive

4. Being a species that has the greatest effect within its ecological community, especially by determining the presence, abundance, or type of other species. As a plant community progresses through stages of succession, different species may become dominant for a period until the climax community is reached, at which point the dominant species remains stable until a major disruption occurs. Among animals, the dominant species in a community is generally the top predator or the most abundant or widespread species.

5. Being an animal that occupies the highest position in a social hierarchy and has the greatest access to resources such as food and a mate or mates. Social dominance is gained and maintained through factors such as size and aggressiveness.

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Synonym Usage

Dominant, predominant, paramount, preeminent describe something outstanding. Dominant describes something that is most influential or important: the dominant characteristics of monkeys. Predominant describes something that is dominant over all others, or is more widely prevalent: Curiosity is the predominant characteristic of monkeys. Paramount applies to something that is first in rank or order: Safety is of paramount importance. Preeminent applies to a prominence based on recognition of excellence: His work was of preeminent quality.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondominant
  adjective
• dominantly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• dominants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dominant

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin dominant- (stem of domināns, present participle of dominārī “to be lord and master, domineer”; see dominate), equivalent to domin(us) “master, possessor, ruler” + -ant- -ant

Explanation

Dominant means to be in control. In a wolf pack, one male wolf fights the others, wins, and becomes the dominant wolf in the group. Dominant derives from the Latin dominus which means "lord or master." If you grew up with a Latin mass, you will recognize this as one of many words for God. If you're dominant, it means you treat others as if you're their master. You can also use dominant to describe something frequent or common. For example, when cell phones first came out, their dominant use was for making calls. Now cells phone do so much more, some people hardly make calls on them at all.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dominant dominants

Did Premier League champions Arsenal show just how far ahead of Manchester City they are with their dominant Community Shield win?

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Low-cost passive ETFs are on pace to hit $1 trillion in net inflows for the first time this year, underscoring the dominant role they now play in portfolios.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

If you only followed the headlines, it was difficult to reconcile the two dominant narratives about Gen Z. Depending on the week, we were either frighteningly reckless or hopelessly boring.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

California’s Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote next week to approve the merger that would bolster Southern California’s dominant provider with more than 5 million customers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026

Figure 5.27: Take care to use the correct third and seventh — dominant, major, or minor — with extended chords.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

His day job involved explaining the arcane workings of second-inversion dominants and Neapolitan sixths to a class of puzzled undergraduates that included me.

From New York Times ● May 14, 2011

Throughout albums like Innervisions or Songs in the Key of Life you'll find plenty of what you might call 'jazz chords' – flattened 9ths and secondary dominants and extended blues progressions and all that business.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 17, 2010

In its analysis he uses the Mendelian classification of biological traits into dominants and recessives, adds two other categories: survivals and mutations.

From Time Magazine Archive

New dominants are added, and the theory advances farther and farther from the “machine theory,” becomes ever more enigmatical, and more vitalistic.

From Naturalism And Religion by Rudolf Otto

In the former case the offspring will be all of the dominant form, while in the latter they will consist on the average of equal numbers of dominants and recessives.

From Mendelism Third Edition by Reginald Crundall Punnett

Related Words

• assertive
• commanding
• effective
• leading
• main
• powerful
• predominant
• preeminent
• prevailing
• prevalent
• principal