minority leader

American  

noun

1. the party member who directs the activities of the minority party on the floor of a legislative body, as of the U.S. Congress.

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minority leader Cultural  

1. The leader of the political party that holds a minority of seats in either house of Congress or of a state legislature. Selected by their own party caucus es, minority leaders act as chief spokespersons and strategists for their parties.

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Etymology

Origin of minority leader

An Americanism dating back to 1945–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minority leader

Democrats lost their majority in 2024, but Mr. Schumer as minority leader is still the highest-ranking Jew in U.S. elective office.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

And that’s particularly true of the strategies and tactics of the Senate minority leader quoted above: Harry Reid, who served as Democrats’ Senate leader from 2005 to 2017.

From Slate ● May 4, 2026

"Good riddance," said Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer.

From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026

The Senate minority leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer, and nine others broke with their colleagues to vote to advance the bill to its final Friday evening vote.

From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2025

Let John Sharp Williams, minority leader of the House of Representatives answer him.

From The Negro in the South His Economic Progress in Relation to his Moral and Religious Development by DuBois, W. E. Burghardt