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

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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

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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

Meanwhile, Manchester City - the top-flight's dominant side over the past decade - are facing a period of uncertainty after the club was recently found guilty of breaching financial rules over nine years.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

The court ruled that Swisscom did not hold a dominant market position and did not breach competition law.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The finding suggests that Europe was an important part of the journey that eventually brought these predators to the southern continents, where some of their descendants became dominant hunters.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

Record-high home prices and soaring mortgage rates have priced out many younger buyers, leaving comparatively better-off boomers, who are now between the ages of 61 and 79, as the dominant force in home buying.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

By the time of Christ's birth, two of these early polities had become dominant: Pukara on the northern, Peruvian edge of the lake and Tiwanaku on the opposite, Bolivian side.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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

Of the second generation, one-half the individuals are still mixed, bearing the dominant characteristic externally and the other hidden; one-fourth are pure dominants and one-fourth are pure recessives.

From The Dollar Hen by Milo M. (Milo Milton) Hastings

The term endocrine dominants brings up the inquiries of Mendelism, and the relation of Mendelian conceptions of dominant and recessive to the internal secretions.

From The Glands Regulating Personality by Louis Berman M.D.

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Related Words

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

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