Jump To:

• major
  major

  noun

  a commissioned military officer ranking next below a lieutenant colonel and next above a captain.
• Major
  Major

  noun

  Clarence, born 1936, U.S. novelist and poet.

major

¹ American  

[may-jer] / ˈmeɪ dʒər /

noun

• majors
  plural

1. a commissioned military officer ranking next below a lieutenant colonel and next above a captain.

2. one of superior rank, ability, etc., in a specified class.

3. Education.

   1. a subject or field of study chosen by a student to represent their principal interest and upon which a large share of their efforts are concentrated.

      History was my major in college.

   2. a student engaged in such study.

4. a person of full legal age (opposed to minor).

5. Music. a major interval, chord, scale, etc.

6. the majors,

   1. Sports. the major leagues.

      He coached in the majors as well as in the minors.

   2. the companies or organizations that lead or control a particular field of activity.

      the oil majors.

---

adjective

1. greater in size, extent, or importance.

   the major part of the town.

2. great, as in rank or importance: a major artist.

   a major political issue;

   a major artist.

3. serious or risky.

   a major operation.

4. of or relating to the majority.

   the major opinion.

5. of full legal age.

6. Music.

   1. (of an interval) being between the tonic and the second, third, sixth, or seventh degrees of a major scale: a major sixth.

      a major third;

      a major sixth.

   2. (of a chord) having a major third between the root and the note next above it.

7. pertaining to the subject in which a student takes the most courses.

   Her major field is English history.

8. (initial capital letter) (of one of two male students in an English public school who have the same surname) being the elder or higher in standing.

   Hobbes Major is not of a scientific bent.

verb (used without object)

• majors,
  present (3rd person singular)
• majored,
  past participle,  past
• majoring
  present participle

1. to follow a major course of study.

   He is majoring in physics.

Major ² American  

[may-jer] / ˈmeɪ dʒər /

noun

1. Clarence, born 1936, U.S. novelist and poet.

2. John, born 1943, British political leader: prime minister 1990–97.

---

major ¹ British  

/ ˈmeɪdʒə /

noun

1. military an officer immediately junior to a lieutenant colonel

2. a person who is superior in a group or class

3. a large or important company

   the oil majors

4. (often preceded by the) music a major key, chord, mode, or scale

5. 1. the principal field of study of a student at a university, etc

      his major is sociology

   2. a student who is studying a particular subject as his principal field

      a sociology major

6. a person who has reached the age of legal majority

7. logic a major term or premise

8. a principal or important record company, film company, etc

9. (plural) the major leagues

---

adjective

1. larger in extent, number, etc

   the major part

2. of greater importance or priority

3. very serious or significant

   a major disaster

4. main, chief, or principal

5. of, involving, or making up a majority

6. music

   1. (of a scale or mode) having notes separated by the interval of a whole tone, except for the third and fourth degrees, and seventh and eighth degrees, which are separated by a semitone

   2. relating to or employing notes from the major scale

      a major key

   3. (postpositive) denoting a specified key or scale as being major

      C major

   4. denoting a chord or triad having a major third above the root

   5. (in jazz) denoting a major chord with a major seventh added above the root

7. logic constituting the major term or major premise of a syllogism

8. of or relating to a student's principal field of study at a university, etc

9. the elder: used after a schoolboy's surname if he has one or more younger brothers in the same school

   Price major

10. of full legal age

11. (postpositive) Leisure:Bell-ringing of, relating to, or denoting a method rung on eight bells

verb

1. to do one's principal study (in a particular subject)

   to major in English literature

2. to take or deal with as the main area of interest

   the book majors on the peasant dishes

Major ² British  

/ ˈmeɪdʒə /

noun

1. Sir John. born 1943, British Conservative politician: Chancellor of the Exchequer (1989–90); prime minister (1990–97)

---

Synonym Usage

See capital ¹.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• majorship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• majors
  plural

Participles

• majoring
  present
• majored
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• major
  simple
• majors
  simple
• have majored
  perfect
• has majored
  perfect
• am majoring
  progressive
• are majoring
  progressive
• is majoring
  progressive
• have been majoring
  perfect progressive
• has been majoring
  perfect progressive

Past

• majored
  simple
• had majored
  perfect
• was majoring
  progressive
• were majoring
  progressive
• had been majoring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will major
  simple
• will have majored
  perfect
• will be majoring
  progressive
• will have been majoring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of major

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Latin, comparative of magnus “great, large”; replacing Middle English maio(u)r, majour, from Anglo-French, from Latin, as above; see origin at majesty

Explanation

Something major is big, big, big! It's major, baby! It's large! Important! Intense! Powerful! Michael Jackson's album "Thriller" was major, eventually becoming the biggest-selling album of all time. A victory of 98 to 3 might well be called major. If you're a musician, you're probably also familiar with the difference between a minor scale and a major scale. A major scale sounds happy, while a minor one sounds sad. The discovery of life on another planet? Major. Getting into the college of your choice? Major. For everything else, there's "ordinary."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

major Major majors majored majoring

"We hope that France and Germany, as major economies in the world, will uphold openness, cooperation and free trade," the commerce ministry said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

This week’s announcement is a sign that the U.S. is at long last starting to throw American ingenuity and capital at a major strategic problem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Whitney blamed the loss of their business in 2025 as a major stressor on their relationship.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Some players, including Brooks Koepka, have since returned to the PGA Tour, which rewrote its rules in December to allow the five-time major winner to come back, subject to certain sanctions.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Just about every major Wall Street investment bank was effectively run by its bond departments.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Major Wall Street firms have already raced to tokenize Treasurys and money-market funds into tradable tokens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Messi departs as the record appearance-maker and goal-scorer for Argentina but will continue his club career with Major League Soccer team Inter Miami.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

A year and a half later, after his shrewd moves helped turn the Dodgers into World Series champions in 1988, Claire was named Major League Baseball’s executive of the year by the Sporting News.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

In 1992, he was offered a peerage by Conservative Prime Minister John Major in recognition for his work with a charity set up to help Kurds who were being oppressed by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

“I will ask Major General Dickson,” the American promised.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Shell and other oil majors are seeing "an unprecedented widening of the refining spread", said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

No Dodger ranked among the top 16 in the majors in home runs or the top 37 in RBIs, yet they were fourth in runs scored.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

ANZ captured 15% and regional lenders grew above the majors in business lending, they add.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

He’s one of the few .300 hitters left in the majors, yet he has never hit a single home run.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

I listen to every word those Howard students say about the different majors and clubs and activities the school has to offer.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

"Since I am the first I feel a great responsibility to pave the way for other women athletes who love playing games as much as I do," said Park, who majored in taekwondo in college.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

After coming through the LTA system, Fery opted to go on a scholarship to Stanford University in California - a prestigious institution that specialises in research - and majored in science, technology and society.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

Doc attended Delaware State University, an HBCU, where he majored in mass communications.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

But AI wasn’t allowed for quizzes or exams testing memorized subjects, said the 22-year-old, who majored in business computer information systems.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

At her parents’ insistence, she’d majored in chemistry, for they were hopeful she would follow in her father’s footsteps.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

At Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Saint switched from training to be a teacher to majoring in drama.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

He is a student at Syracuse University, majoring in magazine, news and digital journalism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Madison Everlith is a rising senior at Pace University in New York City, majoring in women and gender studies, along with peace and justice studies.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

He walked onto the team at Texas A&M, majoring in business finance, planning to stick around campus long enough to earn a master’s degree.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2026

“Yeah. She’s interested as hell in all that stuff. She’s majoring in psychology.”

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

Related Words

• big
• crucial
• great
• main
• notable
• preeminent
• principal
• radical
• serious
• significant
• vital