DictionaryAI

minority

Saymy-NOR-i-tee/maɪˈnɔɹ.ɪ.ti/UK/maɪˈnɒɹ.ɪ.ti/AUSmy-NOR-uh-tee/mɑɪˈnɔɹ.ə.ti/

Pluralminorities

7 meanings of minority

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    The smaller part of a group, fewer than half of the people.

    Like the smaller slice when you cut a cake into two uneven pieces.

    Only a minority of students chose the early class.

    In that town, left-handed people are a small minority.

    Oppositemajority

    Note
  2. 2
    nounUScountable
    A person who belongs to a smaller racial or ethnic group in a country.

    Like being one of the few kids in class who speaks a different language at home.

    As a minority, she often felt underrepresented at the company.

    The scholarship program supports minorities pursuing science degrees.

    Note
  3. 3
    nouncountable
    A group of people who are treated unfairly and given less power than others in society.

    Like a group that is always pushed aside and picked last, no matter how many of them there are.

    Members of that minority faced unfair treatment for generations.

    The new law was meant to protect minorities from discrimination.

    Oppositemajority

    Note
  4. 4
    adjectivebefore a noun
    Belonging to or about a smaller group within a larger one.

    The town celebrates its minority cultures every spring.

    Minority students received extra tutoring support.

    Oppositemainstream

    Note
  5. 5
    adjectivebefore a noun
    Having power from less than half of the votes or seats, not a full majority.

    The minority party still managed to block the bill.

    They formed a minority government after the close election.

    Note
  6. 6
    noununcountable
    The time of someone's life before they become a legal adult.

    Like the years before you are old enough to vote or sign your own papers.

    He inherited the estate but could not control it during his minority.

    The throne was managed by advisers throughout the king's minority.

    Similarchildhood

    Oppositeadulthood

    Note
  7. 7
    nouneuphemisticIndiacountable
    In India, a polite word for a Muslim.

    Several minorities gathered at the mosque for Friday prayers.

    He grew up as a minority in a mostly Hindu town and learned to read the Quran from his grandfather.

    Note

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Latin "minor," meaning less, through a Late Latin and French form.