# major

Pronunciation: US say "MAY-jur" /ˈmeɪd͡ʒɚ/; say "MAY-juh" UK /ˈmeɪ.d͡ʒə(ɹ)/, AUS [ˈmæɪ̯d͡ʒə(ɹ)]

## Adjective

1. Important, serious, or significant; great in size, amount, effect, or rank compared with others of its kind.
   - Simple: Very important, big, or serious.
   - _The merger was a major event for the entire industry._
   - _She played a major role in the company's success._
4. Greater than the rest in number, quantity, or extent.
   - Simple: Larger in number or amount than the rest.
   - _The major portion of the city's budget goes to roads and schools._
   - _Rice makes up the major part of their daily diet._
7. Serious enough to involve great risk, even to a person's life.
   - Simple: Very serious and possibly putting someone's life in danger.
   - _The patient underwent major surgery to remove the tumor._
   - _The accident left him needing major surgery on both legs._
8. 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.
   - Simple: In music, based on a scale that usually sounds bright and happy.
   - _The composer shifted to a major key for the triumphant finale._
   - _Most nursery songs are set in a major key._
11. Relating to the subject a student chooses as their main field of specialization.
   - Simple: Relating to the main subject a student chooses to study.
   - _The department lists the major requirements every student must complete._
   - _Her major coursework focuses heavily on statistics._
13. 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.
   - Simple: In music, describes a gap between notes one half step wider than the minor one.
   - _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._
14. Of a chord, having a major third above its root note.
   - Simple: In music, describes a bright-sounding chord whose third is four half steps above its root, the note the chord is named after.
   - _The song opens on a bright C major chord._
   - _A major chord resolves the phrase more sweetly than a minor one would._
16. In logic, of a term or premise in a categorical syllogism: being the predicate of the conclusion, or containing that term.
   - Simple: In logic, describing the broader term in an argument's conclusion, or the general statement that contains it.
   - _The major premise supplies the general rule the argument rests on._
   - _He rewrote the major premise to make its scope explicit._

## Noun

2. The main subject or course a student focuses on while working toward a college or university degree. *(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US)*
   - Simple: The main subject a student chooses to study at college.
   - _She declared her major in economics at the end of sophomore year._
   - _Choosing a major can feel overwhelming for new students._
3. A military officer in the army or US air force, ranking between captain and lieutenant colonel.
   - Simple: A military officer who ranks above a captain but below a lieutenant colonel.
   - _The major briefed the troops before the operation began._
   - _After the war, he retired with the rank of major._
5. A college or university student who specializes in a particular area of study. *(Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US)*
   - Simple: A student who has chosen a certain subject as their main study.
   - _As an engineering major, she spends long hours in the lab._
   - _The career fair attracted many computer science majors._
9. Short for major key: a key based on a major scale, often heard as bright or cheerful. — Ellipsis of major key.
   - Simple: Short for major key: a key in music that usually sounds bright and happy.
   - _The symphony ends triumphantly in C major._
   - _He transposed the hymn into G major to suit the choir's range._
10. A large, commercially successful company, especially a record label bigger than an independent one.
   - Simple: A big, successful company, especially a large music company.
   - _After years on small labels, the singer finally signed to a major._
   - _The big majors control much of the global music market._
12. The leader of a band or of one group of its players, named with a word such as drum or pipe in front.
   - Simple: The leader of a marching band or part of one, with a word like '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._
15. Short for major interval: a gap between notes one half step wider than the matching minor gap. — Ellipsis of major interval.
   - Simple: Short form of major interval. Use it for the wider of two gap sizes between notes.
   - _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._
17. Short for major premise: the premise of a syllogism that contains the major term, usually a general statement. — Ellipsis of major premise.
   - Simple: Short form of major premise. In logic, it is the broad statement an argument starts from.
   - _He granted the conclusion only after testing the major._
   - _The major rests on a generalization the audience refused to accept._

## Verb

6. To study a particular subject as one's main field at a college or university.
   - Simple: To study a subject as your main one at college.
   - _Many students major in business hoping for stable careers._
   - _He decided to major in physics after a great first class._

## Noun

18. An elder brother, especially at a British public school, where the word followed his surname to set him apart from a younger brother. *(dated, British)*
   - Simple: At older British schools, the elder of two brothers, with his surname put in front.
   - _Everyone in the house knew Wilson major as the better bowler of the two._
   - _The prefect summoned Hartley major to the housemaster's study._

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Having reached full legal age and the rights of adulthood.
- (noun) A person who has reached the legal age of adulthood.
- (noun) Short for major suit: in bridge, hearts or spades, the higher-scoring suits.
- (noun) In Canadian football, a touchdown, scored for six points; also known as a major score.
- (noun) In Australian rules football, a goal, scored by kicking the ball cleanly between the two central posts.
- (noun) A large leaf-cutter ant of the soldier caste, which defends the colony's nest.
- (adjective) Describing change ringing in which eight bells keep swapping their order.
- (adjective) 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.
- (noun) Change ringing in which eight bells sound in constantly shifting orders.
- (noun) A mayor, or in older Scots use a mair, a court or burgh officer.

## Origin

From Middle English major, from Latin maior, the comparative of magnus ('great, large, important'), which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂yōs ('greater'). It is a doublet of mayor and is related to French majeur.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/major (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).