Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

minority

[mi-nawr-i-tee, -nor, -mahy-]

noun

the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole.

a smaller party or group opposed to a majority, as in voting or other action.

a group differing, especially in race, religion, or ethnic background, from the majority of a population: legislation aimed at providing equal rights for minorities.

a member of such a group.

the state or period of being under the legal age of full responsibility.

adjective

of or pertaining to a minority.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Minority is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Origin:
1525–35; < Medieval Latin minōritās. See minor, -ity

Related forms

non·mi·nor·i·ty, adjective

pro·mi·nor·i·ty, adjective

Synonyms
5. childhood, boyhood, girlhood.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To minority

Example Sentences

We would no longer tolerate a situation in which the minority had leisure because the majority had labor.

America's president and vice-president belong to this talented minority.

If you think eating insects is gross, you may be in the cultural minority.

EXPAND

We would no longer tolerate a situation in which the minority had leisure because the majority had labor.

America's president and vice-president belong to this talented minority.

If you think eating insects is gross, you may be in the cultural minority.

Despite being a minority of math and science faculty overall, the number of women in the academic ranks is on the rise.

Learning a minority language opens doors-and hearts.

If your last cellphone purchase wasn't a smartphone and you're living stateside, consider yourself in the minority.

Intermarriage is also eating away at the minority share of the population.

It has certainly been a landmark year for the national recognition of minority and indigenous communities across the globe.

In recent months researchers have published several papers favoring the minority view of the skeptics.

Americans are in the minority with their names for these animals, which to me are inaccurate and non-descriptive.

Majority groups have the power to define local rules, but minority groups are large enough for conflicts to arise.

Those in between are in the minority of those in between.

Today a vocal minority is complicating the picture by suggesting that the die-off could have been more gradual.

But some people--namely, the poor and certain minority ethnic groups--are still being left behind.

And while scientists from minority groups may be rare, they do exist.

These individuals, however, seem to largely be in the minority.

The key is to identify this minority and empower them.

Yet a minority of males still showed an innate preference for male mates.

Most try to explain it theoretically, but a small minority claim to find problems.

They're in a minority and they're suffering for their beliefs.

Minority households also became more likely to have education debt.

Minority physicians or docs in small practices were less likely to blow the whistle than hospital staff.

At this time, the problem is only affecting a small minority of users.

We've often heard from the party faithful that they'd rather be a pure minority than a debased majority.

The city's efforts to award more contracts to businesses owned by women or minority members fall far short, a new report says.

More minority students attend college than in the past, but their academic performance still lags behind.

Research shows that lower-income and minority families often have less access.

Kelly plans to promote more minority officers in the higher ranks of the department, weeks after after a white officer.

Ellenson says that interactive technology can help engage minority students.

Strong participation shows how school-choice programs are winning over minority parents.

Women and members of minority groups tend to take longer than students.

The thought of losing a job to a minority probably wouldn't cross the minds of those who have a job.

Award recipients must be from an indigenous or minority culture within their countries of origin.

So it's basically saying that this author is regarded as a minority in the field which results failed to replicate.

Educators across the nation are putting extraordinary effort into improving the achievement of minority students.

But the government wants to restrict financial investors in such clinics to minority stakes.

Absolute power is no longer in the hands of the light-skinned elite minority.

Much of the population is exposed to these carcinogens, yet only a tiny minority suffers dangerous tumors as a consequence.

But a small minority have changed that for everyone.

Kelly plans to make good on a promise to promote more minority officers, as laid out in a letter to the governor.

Colleges take on a persistent but rarely discussed issue: the poor grades earned by many minority students.

People don't want prosperity where the minority makes a profit at the expense of the many".

Several programs try to improve social mobility for minority students by helping them attend elite schools.

Survey finds that more women and members of minority groups are rising to the.

Investors cheered an important victory in a long campaign to improve the rights of minority shareholders.

The program teaches photography and writing skills to inner-city and minority youth from low-income and at-risk.

There is not even a substantial minority of specialist who say that sea rise is over stated.

If you are in the minority of people for whom family visits are genuinely fun, this weekend roundup isn't for you.

Discrimination plays little part in limiting the number of minority professors.

More than a hundred ethnic minority groups live in the surrounding area.

The ones who deny anthropogenic causation are in the extreme minority the question of the day is:.

In fact, rationality is still a luxury enjoyed by a relative minority on this planet.

And so far the state's colleges have failed in their attempts to increase the number of minority students who graduate.

The biggest challenge, she says, is getting more units from minority groups.

Most users do not become addicted, while a minority do become addicted.

People will always complain, but they are a vocal minority.

Women and members of minority groups are encouraged to apply.

The reality is that only a tiny minority become that thoroughly addicted.

The finding reveals that the majority of fish do return home but a significant minority move on to other reefs.

Most of the newly announced grants were awarded to poor, minority communities with high unemployment rates.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

minority (maɪˈnɒrɪtɪ, mɪ-)

—n , pl -ties
1.	the smaller in number of two parts, factions, or groups
2.	a group that is different racially, politically, etc, from a larger group of which it is a part
3.	a. the state of being a minor
	b. Compare majority the period during which a person is below legal age
4.	(modifier) relating to or being a minority: a minority interest; a minority opinion

[C16: from Medieval Latin minōritās, from Latin minor]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

minority

1533, "condition of being smaller," from M.L. minoritatem (nom. minoritas), from L. minor (see minor). Meaning "state of being under legal age" is from 1547; that of "smaller number or part" is from 1736. The meaning "group of people separated from the rest of a community

EXPAND

by race, religion, language, etc." is from 1921.

COLLAPSE

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

minority

a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group. As the term is used in the social sciences, this subordinancy is the chief defining characteristic of a minority group. As such, minority status does not necessarily correlate to population. In some cases one or more so-called minority groups may have a population many times the size of the dominating group, as was the case in South Africa under apartheid (c. 1950-91).

Learn more about minority with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source

Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com

Searching for minority?
How many words do you actually know?

FIND OUT

Anne of France Balkanize Burakumin civil rights cultural pluralism Diaspora

Matching Quote

"As a practicing member of several oppressed minority groups, I feel that I have on the whole conducted myself with the utmost decorum. I have ... refrained from marching, chanting ... or in any other way making anything that could even vaguely be construed as a fuss."

-Fran Lebowitz

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help