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• 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  

[mey-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.

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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  

[mey-jer] / ˈmeɪ dʒər /

noun

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

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

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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

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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)

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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

If they vote in favour it will have cleared its first major hurdle and the next stage will allow MPs to consider possible amendments at committee stage.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Shares of Moore shed over 30% this week after its first major lock-up expiration on Monday, bringing their year-to-date loss to 40%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

No one will give speeches at the ceremony, while bereaved family members will read out the names of all of those killed and a bell rung to mark major moments during the attack.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

The World Cup marks the first major international competition for six of those players: Bueckers, Clark, Reese, Aliyah Boston, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

Hobbling around the White House on crutches, Kennedy prepped for the summit by reviewing major issues of the Cold War.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Major donors such as Australia and China have, by comparison, spent hundreds of millions of dollars.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Major figures in the space have been calling for AI development to be slowed in recent months, including Anthropic bosses Dario Amodei and Jared Kaplan.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Major construction projects can damage or destroy fossil deposits, but they can also expose layers of rock that scientists would otherwise have little chance of reaching with traditional excavation tools.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

Rams owner Stan Kroenke has agreed to purchase the Angels, marking the end of owner Arte Moreno’s tenure and Kroenke’s first move into Major League Baseball.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

I pictured what it would mean for him to ask Major General Dickson.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Jeremy Schifeling, who leads training sessions at college career centers, says a lot of students make the mistake of picking tech majors they are ill-suited for and drop out.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Bean says math majors are strong candidates for a couple of reasons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Joseph attended Harvard University on the GI bill and completed majors in math and physics in just three years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Djokovic proceeded to win four of the following five Grand Slams, doubling his tally of majors with 12 across the next six years.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

I could tell he was looking me over, probably wondering who the hell I was, this intruder upon the sanctuary of English majors.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

“It’s sort of like saying you majored in Excel,” Miscovich says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

"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

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

His name was Paul Lurz, and he was the hospital’s director of performance and improvement, but he also happened to be a social worker who’d majored in history, which was his passion.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Despite her patchy schooling, Steinem received a scholarship to Smith College, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa after majoring in government.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

While studying in an NYU library, he met Sarah Fryer, who was majoring in psychology and biology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Sherry Zhou, a senior majoring in political science and communications, said the timing was difficult with major assignments due and many professors using Canvas to share readings and slide decks.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

“I’m majoring in philosophy at the University at Albany. I have to think about my future.”

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Related Words

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