major: Meaning and Definition of

ma•jor

1. a commissioned military officer ranking next below a lieutenant colonel and next above a captain.
2. one of superior rank, ability, etc., in a specified class.
3. History was my major at college.
1. a subject or field of study chosen by a student to represent his or her principal interest and upon which a large share of his or her efforts are concentrated:History was my major at college.
2. a student engaged in such study.
4. a person of full legal age (opposed to minor).
5. a major interval, chord, scale, etc.
6. He coached in the majors as well as in the minors.
1. Sports.the major leagues:He coached in the majors as well as in the minors.
2. the companies or organizations that lead or control a particular field of activity:the oil majors.

1. greater in size, extent, or importance: the major part of the town.
2. great, as in rank or importance: a major political issue; a major artist.
3. serious or risky: a major operation.
4. of or pertaining to the majority: the major opinion.
5. of full legal age.
6. a major third; a major sixth.
1. (of an interval) being between the tonic and the second, third, sixth, or seventh degrees of a major scale:a major third; a major sixth.
2. (of a chord) having a major third between the root and the note next above it.
7. pertaining to the subject in which a student takes the most courses: Her major field is English history.
8. (cap.) (of one of two male students in an English public school who have the same surname) being the elder or higher in standing: Hobbes Major is not of a scientific bent.

1. to follow a major course of study: He is majoring in physics.

Ma•jor

1. born 1936, U.S. novelist and poet.
2. born 1943, British political leader: prime minister since 1990.