a commissioned military officer ranking next below a lieutenant colonel and next above a captain.
one of superior rank, ability, etc., in a specified class.
Education.
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.
a student engaged in such study.
a person of full legal age (opposed to minor).
Music. a major interval, chord, scale, etc.
the majors,
Sports. the major leagues.
He coached in the majors as well as in the minors.
the companies or organizations that lead or control a particular field of activity.
the oil majors.
greater in size, extent, or importance.
the major part of the town.
great, as in rank or importance: a major artist.
a major political issue;
a major artist.
serious or risky.
a major operation.
of or relating to the majority.
the major opinion.
of full legal age.
Music.
(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.
(of a chord) having a major third between the root and the note next above it.
pertaining to the subject in which a student takes the most courses.
Her major field is English history.
(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.
Clarence, born 1936, U.S. novelist and poet.
John, born 1943, British political leader: prime minister 1990–97.
military an officer immediately junior to a lieutenant colonel
a person who is superior in a group or class
a large or important company
the oil majors
(often preceded by the) music a major key, chord, mode, or scale
the principal field of study of a student at a university, etc
his major is sociology
a student who is studying a particular subject as his principal field
a sociology major
a person who has reached the age of legal majority
logic a major term or premise
a principal or important record company, film company, etc
(plural) the major leagues
larger in extent, number, etc
the major part
of greater importance or priority
very serious or significant
a major disaster
main, chief, or principal
of, involving, or making up a majority
music
(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
relating to or employing notes from the major scale
a major key
(postpositive) denoting a specified key or scale as being major
C major
denoting a chord or triad having a major third above the root
(in jazz) denoting a major chord with a major seventh added above the root
logic constituting the major term or major premise of a syllogism
of or relating to a student's principal field of study at a university, etc
the elder: used after a schoolboy's surname if he has one or more younger brothers in the same school
Price major
of full legal age
(postpositive) Leisure:Bell-ringing of, relating to, or denoting a method rung on eight bells
to do one's principal study (in a particular subject)
to major in English literature
to take or deal with as the main area of interest
the book majors on the peasant dishes
See capital 1.
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
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."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A major earthquake that severely damaged a shopping mall and a factory in Japan killed at least 13 people, officials said Wednesday, as rescuers desperately tried to reach survivors feared trapped in the wreckage.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Now, 14 years after London 2012, Ngake will make a remarkable return to a major multi-sport event when she competes at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games for her adopted nation, England.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Investors are also closely watching any disruption to business operations following a major earthquake in the southern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
But for now, every major global sports property is watching Wimbledon's experiment, says Bhalla.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
When a typhoon caused major flooding in the area in October 2019, hundreds of bags were swept into a river.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
Major hyperscalers and more than a dozen of neocloud companies and AI labs that once might have looked at natural-gas powered and other combustion technologies now choose Bloom as a “superior power solution,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The deal will give YouTube, owned by Google, a bevy of sports, including NFL football, NBA basketball, soccer and Major League Baseball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Major U.S. stock indexes are near all-time highs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
"It's absolutely brilliant," affirms Arsenal season ticket-holder Major.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
One final test remained before Major Puff could give his stamp of approval.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
And, although the Dodgers pride themselves on running a team whose championship window never closes, they already field the oldest lineup in the majors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Jones paid tribute to Hensley Meulens, who became the first native of Curaçao in the majors when he debuted on Aug. 23, 1989, with the Yankees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
The 35-year-old Englishman has often been accused of not showing enough killer instinct in the key moments of majors - and that could be levelled at him again this week.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
As oil flows out of the Middle East remain in question, producers from frackers in the U.S. to oil majors and state-run enterprises in Kazakhstan, Brazil and Venezuela have been ramping up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Many of the colleges where lower-income students tend to enroll have limited resources and offer a narrow range of majors, leaving some students disenchanted and unwilling to continue.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
She attended Brandeis University, where she majored in political science and performed in musicals and cabaret.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 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
There, she majored in illustration and took a six-week winter glass-working course that changed her life.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Wilder, who majored in gender studies in college, had been working with students to show support for Sasha.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
He is a student at Syracuse University, majoring in magazine, news and digital journalism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
In 1992, I started at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in communications and minoring in theater.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
Katie Karroum, a Cal State Northridge senior majoring in communication studies, said AI has been “inconsistently used and applied.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
That’s the case for Ou, 20, who is majoring in human development and aging and plans to pursue a career in nursing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
Instead I was majoring in hustling, something no university would give me a degree for.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
