minority

American  

[mahy-nawr-i-tee, -nor, mi-] / maɪˈnɔr ɪ ti, -ˈnɒr, mɪ- /

noun

plural

minorities

1. the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole.

2. a smaller party or group opposed to a majority, as in voting or other action.

3. a group in society distinguished from, and less dominant than, the more numerous majority.

   The ethnic minority was disproportionately affected by the reduction in preventative medical services.

4. a racial, ethnic, religious, or social subdivision of a society that is subordinated in political, financial, or social power by the dominant group, without regard to the size of these groups.

   legislation aimed at providing equal rights for minorities.

5. a member of such a group.

6. the state or period of being under the legal age of full responsibility.

   Synonyms:

   girlhood, boyhood, childhood

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adjective

1. of or relating to a minority.

minority British  

/ mɪ-, maɪˈnɒrɪtɪ /

noun

1. the smaller in number of two parts, factions, or groups

2. a group that is different racially, politically, etc, from a larger group of which it is a part

3. 1. the state of being a minor

   2. the period during which a person is below legal age Compare majority

4. (modifier) relating to or being a minority

   a minority interest

   a minority opinion

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Other Word Forms

• nonminority
  adjective
• prominority
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of minority

First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English, from Middle French minorité, from Medieval Latin minōritāt-, stem of minōritās; see minor, -ity

Explanation

If you have eight pennies and twelve dimes, the minority — or smaller portion — of your coins are pennies. If you're left-handed, you are in the minority, because most people are right-handed. That means that right-handed people are the majority (the opposite of minority). Minority is typically used to refer to the smaller of two numbers being compared or to a group of people that is not predominant in a particular country or population. Less commonly, it refers to the time period before someone is of legal age.

Example Sentences

Leading Democrats—ranging from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani—quickly condemned the correspondents dinner attack, as they have other attempts on Trump’s life.

From Slate • Apr. 26, 2026

Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and two of his top lieutenants, Elizabeth Warren and Jeanne Shaheen, called for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to testify before Congress about the decision.

From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026

Minority areas also need locally recruited security forces operating within a national framework.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

"You say all the documents are released," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a statement.

From BBC • Feb. 4, 2026

Minority student—that was the label I bore in college at Stanford, then in graduate school at Columbia and Berkeley: a nonwhite reader of Spenser and Milton and Austen.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Related Words

• opposition