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preponderance

American  
[pri-pon-der-uhns] / prɪˈpɒn dər əns /
Sometimes preponderancy

noun

  1. the fact or quality of being preponderant; superiority in weight, power, numbers, etc..

    The preponderance of votes is against the proposal.
    Synonyms:
    bulk, mass, majority, predominance
preponderance British  
/ prɪˈpɒndərəns, prɪˈpɒndərənsɪ /

noun

  1. the quality of being greater in weight, force, influence, etc

    the preponderance of right-handed people
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of preponderance

First recorded in 1675–85; preponder(ant) + -ance

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Emerging market stocks still trade at a steep discount to the S&P 500, despite a preponderance of technology stocks in these markets.

From Barron's • Jan. 2, 2026

Evidence of this practice is the preponderance of A’s in student grades at Harvard and other formerly elite universities and colleges.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

I’ve never been more grateful to receive such a preponderance of unsolicited messages, and that says a lot since speed-deletion skills are a crowning achievement of my decades-long career in journalism.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2025

They were given fair trials in a democracy for their crimes and then found guilty based on the preponderance of the evidence.

From Salon • Jun. 20, 2024

A preponderance of the members were Jewish, a group that had pursued the game for centuries and was highly proficient at it.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

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.