major
major Lexical Profile
major Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Important, serious, or significant in scope, scale, or effect.
"The city council approved a major renovation of the historic public library."
Greater or larger in size, extent, number, or proportion.
"A major portion of the annual research budget was allocated to renewable energy."
Designating a musical scale, key, chord, or interval characterized by a whole tone between the second and third degrees, typically perceived as bright or consonant.
"Beethoven's Fifth Symphony famously transitions from C minor to a triumphant C major finale."
• noun
North American A principal academic subject or field of study in which a college or university student specializes, or a student pursuing such a specialization.
"She declared biology as her undergraduate major during her sophomore year."
A commissioned military or police officer of middle rank, specifically ranking above a captain and below a lieutenant colonel.
"The retired major wrote an extensive memoir detailing his decades of logistical service."
A leading corporation, sports league, or championship tournament of the highest tier in its industry or sport.
"Winning all four golf majors in a single calendar year remains one of sport's rarest feats."
A person who has reached the legal age of majority and holds full adult legal status.
"Under civil law, only a legal major may sign binding real estate contracts independently."
• verb
North American To specialize in a particular academic discipline or subject as one's primary field of study at a college or university (usually followed by 'in').
"He majored in economics before attending graduate school for public policy."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an adjective, 'major' lacks a standard morphological comparative or superlative form (*majorer, *majorest) because it already derives from a Latin comparative; furthermore, in its sense of 'significant or principal,' it is used almost exclusively before a noun (attributively) rather than after a linking verb.
• Rhymes for major
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English via Old French from Latin 'maior' (earlier 'magior'), the irregular comparative form of 'magnus' ('great, large'), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *meg- ('great').