dominance
Americannoun
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control; authority; rule; supreme influence.
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the condition of being dominant, or having the authority to influence or control.
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Psychology. the disposition of an individual to assert control in dealing with others.
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Animal Behavior. high status in a social group, usually acquired as the result of aggression, that involves the tendency to take priority in access to limited resources, as food, mates, or space.
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Neurology. the normal tendency for one side of the brain to be more important than the other in controlling certain functions, as speech and language.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dominance
First recorded in 1810–20; domin(ant) + -ance
Explanation
When you have power over others you are said to have dominance. For years, the British Empire had dominance over much of the world, ruling vast stretches of Africa, India, and Asia. In packs of animals, the males will often fight to determine dominance, i.e., who is top dog. Or top lion. This happens in classrooms too, with the teacher needing to establish dominance over unruly students. If your football team has dominance over its league, it means they usually beat—or dominate—most of the other teams in the league.
Vocabulary lists containing dominance
Trumps
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Donald Trump Foreign Policy Address
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Spain has been managing Yamal’s minutes while he recovers from injury, but Thursday was supposed to be an opportunity to unleash his dominance.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026
In the two years that followed, more positions were eliminated as Microsoft shifted its focus to funding AI in the race for dominance in the industry.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 1, 2026
The EU said Google abused its market dominance as a search engine by promoting its own comparison-shopping service in search results and demoting those of competitors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026
But as competitors crowd the high-end market, the brand is under pressure to maintain its dominance and increase member spending.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
Archaeologists have found no evidence of large-scale warfare at this time, and thus suggest that Hopewell probably did not achieve its dominance by conquest.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
