A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population. In British English, majority and plurality are often used as synonyms, and is often used to refer to the number of votes separating the first-place finisher from the second-place finisher.

A majority may be called a simple majority to contrast with other types of majority: an overall majority, in parliamentary systems, is the difference of legislators between the government and its opposition; an absolute majority is a majority of all electors, not just those who voted; and a supermajority is a stronger majority than a simple majority.

Contents

• 1 Example
• 2 Parliamentary rules
• 3 See also
• 4 References

Noun

majority (plural majorities)

1. More than half (50%) of some group

   The majority agreed that the new proposal was the best.

   • 1920, Champ Clark, Democratic Achievement:

     But in 1912 the American people gave the Democrats another opportunity, and under the leadership of Woodrow Wilson we swept the country from sea to sea. At the end of that historic contest we had the Presidency, the Senate by a working majority, and the House by an overwhelming majority.

2. The difference between the winning vote and the rest of the votes

   The winner with 53% had a 6% majority over the loser with 47%.

3. (dated) Legal adulthood

   By the time I reached my majority, I had already been around the world twice.

4. (UK) The office held by a member of the armed forces in the rank of major

   On receiving the news of his promotion, Charles Snodgrass said he was delighted to be entering his majority.

• Majority in the sense of "more than half" is used with countable nouns only; for example, "The majority of the members of the committee were in favour of the motion." It is incorrect to use with it uncountable nouns, as in "The majority of the world is covered with water." In the latter case, it is preferable to use expressions such as "the larger part of" or "most of" instead of the "the majority of",

A majority, also known as a simple majority in the U.S., is a subset of a group that is more than half of the entire group. This should not be confused with a plurality, which is a subset having the largest number of parts.