simple majority
Americannoun
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less than half of the total votes cast but more than the minimum required to win, as when there are more than two candidates or choices.
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less than half the number of voters registered.
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.
Geopolitics hasn’t featured heavily in campaign material ahead of the vote, which requires a simple majority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
A simple majority is then required to determine if the decision was correct or not.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Without that threshold, those decisions can be made by a simple majority and just as easily reversed by the next.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Many commissions cannot conduct business without a quorum of a simple majority of commissioners.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
Everyone knew, however, that Chicago was still 38 votes shy of the simple majority needed to win the fair.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
