major

Less common meanings

8. 8
   adjective

   In music, of a scale or key: based on the major scale, with a major third above the keynote and semitones between the third and fourth and the seventh and eighth notes, typically sounding bright.

   The composer shifted to a major key for the triumphant finale.

   Most nursery songs are set in a major key.

   UsageAfter a note name: C major, the key of D major; but before key or scale: a major key.

   Oppositeminor

   Note

   The bright, joyful effect is a tendency rather than a rule. Composers reach for a major key for triumph, but the key alone does not guarantee cheerfulness. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Major-key music tends to sound bright and happy. open.edu
   • Composers use major keys to express triumph. esm.rochester.edu
   • A major key does not by itself guarantee a cheerful effect. en.wikipedia.org
9. 9
   nounabbreviationellipsis

   Short for major key: a key based on a major scale, often heard as bright or cheerful.

   The symphony ends triumphantly in C major.

   He transposed the hymn into G major to suit the choir's range.

   UsageUsually in + note name + major: ends in C major.

   Note

   The everyday shortening: the word key falls away and the note name does the work, so a symphony ends in C major and a hymn moves into G major.

10. 10
    big companynouncountable

    A large, commercially successful company, especially a record label bigger than an independent one.

    After years on small labels, the singer finally signed to a major.

    The big majors control much of the global music market.

    UsageUsually plural, the majors, set against the independents.

    Oppositeindie

    Note

    Billboard in 1997 describes a band re-signing to XL despite "being chased by majors that included Island," which captures the use exactly: a major is a label with size and money behind it. The word can extend to any large, commercially successful company. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The cited Billboard article was published in 1997. worldradiohistory.com
    • The Billboard passage describes a band re-signing to XL and contains the exact words quoted. en.wiktionary.org
11. 11
    subject-relatedadjective

    Relating to the subject a student chooses as their main field of specialization.

    The department lists the major requirements every student must complete.

    Her major coursework focuses heavily on statistics.

    UsageBefore a noun: major requirements, major courses; after be, major means important instead.

12. 12
    band officernouncountable

    The leader of a band or of one group of its players, named with a word such as drum or pipe in front.

    Each pipe major drilled his players until the marches were note-perfect.

    The drum major set the tempo for the whole regimental band.

    UsageWith an instrument in front: drum major, pipe major; the plural is drum majors.

    Note

    A title that never travels alone: drum major, pipe major and trumpet major each pair the word with an instrument, though a drum major leads the whole band. The title sits within military rank vocabulary, which is why a band officer carries a rank-like name. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • A drum major leads the whole band. en.wiktionary.org
    • These band titles have military associations. en.wikipedia.org
13. 13
    adjective

    Of a second, third, sixth, or seventh, or such an interval plus one or more octaves: one semitone wider than the matching minor interval, as between the tonic and that degree of a major scale.

    The leap from C to E is a major third, four semitones across.

    A major second is the step from C up to D, two semitones wide.

    Oppositeminor

    Note

    Here the Latin comparative is still audible. A major interval is literally the greater of a pair, one semitone wider than its minor twin. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Major derives from a Latin comparative meaning greater. en.wiktionary.org
    • A major interval is one semitone wider than the corresponding minor interval. support.fender.com
14. 14
    chord (music)adjective

    Of a chord, having a major third above its root note.

    The song opens on a bright C major chord.

    A major chord resolves the phrase more sweetly than a minor one would.

    Oppositeminor

    Note

    A triad takes its name from its intervals above the root. If the third is a major interval and the fifth is perfect, the triad is called major. Major triad is the textbook phrase; in everyday talk among players it usually becomes a C major chord or a G major chord. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • A triad's quality depends on both its third and its fifth above the root. github.com
    • A major triad requires a major third and a perfect fifth above the root. An augmented triad also has a major third. en.wikipedia.org
15. 15
    interval (music)nounabbreviationellipsis

    Short for major interval: a gap between notes one half step wider than the matching minor gap.

    When the teacher played a pair of thirds, he quickly picked out the major from the minor.

    In the drill on sixths, most students could hear the major but struggled with the minor.

    Note

    Dropping interval leaves a noun that can stand alone, as in "a major rather than a minor." Ear-training drills use this noun once the interval size is clear. In major second, major third, major sixth and major seventh, major is an adjective before an ordinal. These four are the simple interval sizes that can be major or minor.

16. 16
    adjective

    In logic, of a term or premise in a categorical syllogism: being the predicate of the conclusion, or containing that term.

    The major premise supplies the general rule the argument rests on.

    He rewrote the major premise to make its scope explicit.

    Oppositeminor

    Note

    A premise takes its name from the term it carries. Whichever premise contains the predicate of the conclusion is the major premise, and its other term is the middle term. Traditionally it is stated first, but the label depends on content, not on order. Source

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Premises are named after the major or minor terms they contain. gutenberg.org
    • The major premise contains the predicate of the conclusion. sites.oxy.edu
    • The other term in the major premise is the middle term. en.wikisource.org
    • The major premise is conventionally stated first. sluckelman.webspace.durham.ac.uk
    • The label depends on the terms contained in the premise, irrespective of its position. gutenberg.org
17. 17
    nounabbreviationellipsis

    Short for major premise: the premise of a syllogism that contains the major term, usually a general statement.

    He granted the conclusion only after testing the major.

    The major rests on a generalization the audience refused to accept.

    Note

    Logicians' shorthand, made by dropping premise. The major is the premise that joins the major term to the middle term, and by convention it is stated first in a syllogism. The clipping can be ambiguous within logic itself, because a shortened major term uses the identical noun. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The logical noun major is an elliptical form of major premise. en.wiktionary.org
    • The major premise connects the major term with the middle term. faculty.washington.edu
    • The major premise is conventionally stated first. gutenberg.org
    • Major can also be an elliptical form of major term, allowing ambiguity between the term and the premise. en.wiktionary.org
18. 18
    elder brothernoundatedBritish

    An elder brother, especially at a British public school, where the word followed his surname to set him apart from a younger brother.

    Everyone in the house knew Wilson major as the better bowler of the two.

    The prefect summoned Hartley major to the housemaster's study.

    UsagePlaced after the surname: Wilson major, with Wilson minor for the younger brother.

    Oppositeminor

    Note

    Public-school slang of an older Britain: the elder of two brothers became Wilson major and the younger Wilson minor, with the word placed after the surname. Here that word after the surname becomes a noun for the elder brother himself. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • British public-school naming distinguished older and younger brothers by placing major and minor after their surname; Wilson is an illustrative surname. sedberghlookaround.org.uk
    • Major has a noun sense meaning an elder brother, especially at a public school. en.wiktionary.org
19. 19
    adjectiverare

    Having reached full legal age and the rights of adulthood.
20. 20
    nounrare

    A person who has reached the legal age of adulthood.
21. 21
    noun

    Short for major suit: in bridge, hearts or spades, the higher-scoring suits.
22. 22
    nounCanadian

    In Canadian football, a touchdown, scored for six points; also known as a major score.
23. 23
    noun

    In Australian rules football, a goal, scored by kicking the ball cleanly between the two central posts.
24. 24
    noun

    A large leaf-cutter ant of the soldier caste, which defends the colony's nest.
25. 25
    adjective

    Describing change ringing in which eight bells keep swapping their order.
26. 26
    adjectivedatedUK

    Placed after a pupil's surname in British private schools to tell apart the older boy of a pair of brothers, or the oldest of three.
27. 27
    noun

    Change ringing in which eight bells sound in constantly shifting orders.
28. 28
    nounobsolete

    A mayor, or in older Scots use a mair, a court or burgh officer.