major

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is commonly used, especially in journalism, to mean 'important, significant', without any notion of comparison inherent in the word's origins. A political leader invariably gives a major speech, a reference book is published in a major new edition, broadcasters produce a major new series, and major accidents occur regularly on main roads and motorways. This use is too well established for it to be condemned, but major is better used when the element of comparison is present, so that a major work is important relative to other lesser works, a major road is contrasted with a minor one, and so on.

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adjective

1. Being among the leaders in one's field: blue-chip, major-league. Informal big-league, bigtime, heavyweight. See important/unimportant.
2. Most important, influential, or significant: capital, cardinal, chief, first, foremost, key, leading, main, number one, paramount, premier, primary, prime, principal, top. See important/unimportant.

adj

Definition: bigger
Antonyms: lesser, little, minor, small

adj

Definition: important
Antonyms: insignificant, minor, unimportant

n. an army officer of high rank, in particular (in the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps) an officer ranking above captain and below lieutenant colonel. Etymology: shortening of sergeant major, formerly a high rank.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

(1) The name given to a scale whose octave species is built of the following ascending sequence of intervals: T-T-S-T-T-T-S (T = tone, S = semitone). The note chosen to begin the sequence, the key note, becomes part of the name of the scale, i.e.the scale beginning on C is the scale of C major. A piece or passage whose melodic basis is a major scale (say, that on C) and whose harmonic basis is the major triad on the key note of that scale is said to be ‘in C major’.

(2) A major Interval is any one that can be reckoned between the key note of a major scale and a higher note in that scale, other than those called ‘perfect’ (the 4th, 5th and octave). A major Triad is a three-note chord which, reckoned from the lowest note, is built of a major 3rd and a perfect 5th.

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"Greater". A term used to describe certain intervals (seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths), chords and the Ionian Mode.

The fourth grade of commissioned officer and first of the field grades is indicated by a gold oak leaf on the collar points. The pay grade is O-4 and is the same in the Army and Air Force. In the Navy and Coast Guard the rank is lieutenant commander and is additionally indicated with two broad bands of gold with one narrow band between them topped with an insignia representing the branch to which the officer is assigned (most often a gold star in the Navy) or a gold shield in the Coast Guard.

mod. excellent; serious; severe. (Collegiate.)  This rally is, like, major!  Nick is a major dweeb.

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IN BRIEF: Greater in size, importance or amount. Also: A military officer ranking just above a captain.

The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become. — Jim Rohn

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

as in: course of study in school
sign description: Both hands are in a 4-handshape. The pinky of one hand slides down the top of the index finger on the opposite hand.

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For a list of words related to major, see:

• Army, Air Force, and Marines
• Titles of Rank - major: commissioned officer in military ranking above captain and below lieutenant colonel
• Colleges and Universities - major: student’s primary field of study; (vb) select one’s primary field of study
• Maximizers and Superlatives
• Special, Bright, Skillful, or Unusual

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See words rhyming with "major."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Major .

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - større, temmelig stor, vigtigst, hoved-
n. - [mil.] major, dur (musik), hovedfag
v. intr. - have noget som hovedfag

idioms:

• major general    [mil.] generalmajor
• major league    1. division (US baseball)
• major part    størstedelen
• major planet    planet
• major scale    durskala (musik)
• major suit    majorfarve

Nederlands (Dutch)
majoor, meerderjarige, belangrijk persoon/ magnaat, grote-tertstoon- ladder, hoofdargument/ axioma, hoofdvak, student, honkbal (major league), belangrijk, groter, behoorlijk, ernstig, betreffende het hoofdvak, betreffende grote-tertstoon- ladder, majeur (muziek), meerderjarig, een bepaald hoofdvak studeren

Français (French)
adj. - important, majeur, capital, principal, (Mus) majeur, (GB, École) aîné
n. - (Mil) commandant, major, (US, Univ) matière principale, (Jur) majeur/-e, (Mus) ton majeur
v. intr. - (US, Univ) se spécialiser en

idioms:

• major general    (Mil, Naut) général de division
• major league    première division, top niveau
• major part    majorité, rôle principal
• major planet    (Astron) planète majeure
• major scale    échelle diatonique
• major suit    (Mus) suite majeure

Deutsch (German)
n. - Major, Hauptfach
v. - etwas als Hauptfach studieren
adj. - bedeutend, größer, volljährig

idioms:

• major general    Generalmajor
• major league    Oberliga
• major part    Großteil
• major planet    Riesenplanet
• major scale    Durtonleiter
• major suit    (Bridge) hohe Farbe

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (στρατ.) ταγματάρχης, επισμηναγός, (νομ.) ενήλικος, (ΗΠΑ) πανεπιστημιακό μάθημα ειδίκευσης, (ΗΠΑ) ειδικευόμενος φοιτητής, (μουσ.) μείζων, ματζόρε
v. - (για σπουδαστές) ειδικεύομαι
adj. - μείζων, μεγαλύτερος, σοβαρός, ανώτερος, σπουδαιότερος, (μουσ.) μείζων, ματζόρε

idioms:

• major general    (στρατ.) υποστράτηγος, υποπτέραρχος
• major league    (ΗΠΑ) πρωτάθλημα πρώτης κατηγορίας
• major part    πλειοψηφία, πλειονότητα
• major planet    μέγιστος πλανήτης
• major scale    (μουσ.) μείζων (κλίμακα)
• major suit    (στο μπριτζ) φυλλότα σε κούπες ή πίκες

Italiano (Italian)
maggiore, principale, importante, laurearsi, specializzarsi

idioms:

• major general    generale di divisione
• major league    serie A
• major part    maggior parte
• major planet    pianeta principale
• major scale    scala maggiore
• major suit    picche e cuori

Português (Portuguese)
n. - maior (idade), prefeito (m), tom maior (m) (Mús.)
v. - especializar
adj. - maior

idioms:

• major general    general de divisão (m)
• major league    time principal (m)
• major part    de grande importância
• major planet    qualquer planeta do Sistema Solar
• major scale    escala maior (f) (Mús.)
• major suit    naipe de copas ou espadas no jogo de bridge

Русский (Russian)
майор, большой, старший, главный, мажорный, совершеннолетний, специализироваться

idioms:

• major general    генерал-майор
• major league    основная лига высокопоставленных баскетбольных команд
• major part    основная часть
• major planet    одна из 9 планет Солнечной системы
• major scale    мажорная гамма
• major suit    главная масть в карточной игре

Español (Spanish)
adj. - importante, principal, mayor, grave, prioritario, serio
n. - comandante, asignatura principal, especialidad, especializarse
v. intr. - especializarse, concentrarse en algo

idioms:

• major general    general de división, (LAm) brigadier mayor, mayor general, teniente general
• major league    liga mayor (de béisbol profesional)
• major part    parte principal
• major planet    (Astr) planeta
• major scale    escala mayor
• major suit    palo mayor (en bridge)

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - major, huvudämne, översats (logik)
v. - major in - specialisera sig på
adj. - större, allvarligare, svårare, myndig, dur- (mus.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
主要的, 大部份的, 较多的, 主修的, 大调的, 成年的, 主修, 陆军少校, 成年人, 大调

idioms:

• major general    少将
• major league    美国二大职业棒球联盟之一
• major part    大部分
• major planet    大行星
• major scale    大音阶
• major suit    大牌

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 主要的, 大部份的, 較多的, 主修的, 大調的, 成年的
n. - 主修, 陸軍少校, 成年人, 大調
v. intr. - 主修

idioms:

• major general    少將
• major league    美國二大職業棒球聯盟之一
• major part    大部分
• major planet    大行星
• major scale    大音階
• major suit    大牌

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 큰 쪽의 , 중요한 쪽의, 위대한, 성인의, 다수의
n. - 육군 소령, 성인, 전공과목, 장조, 일류 명사
v. intr. - 전공하다

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - より大きな, 多数の, 過半数の, 主要な, 一流の, 長調の, 専攻の, 成年に達した, 年長の
n. - 専攻科目, 専攻学生, 成年に達した人, 成人, 少佐, 長調, 陸軍少佐
v. - 専攻する

idioms:

• major general    少将
• major league    大リーグ
• major part    大部分
• major planet    大惑星
• major scale    長音階
• major suit    スペードのそろい札

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) موضوع من موضوعات الجامعه, بالغ, راشد (فعل) يتخصص (صفه) رئيسي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮ראשי, עיקרי, חשוב, גדול, בגיר, בוגר‬
n. - ‮רב-סרן, אדם מבוגר, מפתח ראשי, מקצוע הלימוד הראשי של סטודנט (ארה"ב), מונח או הנחה עיקריים (לוגיקה)‬
v. intr. - ‮למד או סיים ללמוד מקצוע מסוים (ארה"ב)‬

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