minority
[noun]
Synonyms: infancy, nonage

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Antonyms: majority

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

mi‧nor‧i‧ty S3 W2 AC /maɪˈnɒrəti, maɪˈnɒrɪti $ məˈnɔː-, məˈnɑː-/ noun (plural minorities)

1. [singular also + plural verb] a small group of people or things within a much larger group Antonym : majority:
Gaelic is still spoken in Ireland by a tiny minority.
minority of
Only a minority of people support these new laws.
small/tiny/substantial/significant minority
Gay men are a small but significant minority.
minority report (=a report by a minority of a group who do not agree with the others)

2. [countable usually plural]
a) a group of people of a different race, religion etc from most other people in that country:
People from ethnic minorities often face prejudice.
the very large Russian minorities in Ukraine and Moldova
children from minority groups
the teaching of minority languages in schools
minority leader/businessman/student etc American English:
a school with a high proportion of minority students
b) American English someone who belongs to a group like this:
Businesses are under pressure to hire minorities and women.

3. be in the/a minority to form less than half of a group:
Boys are very much in the minority at the dance class.

4. be in a minority of one to be the only person in a group who has a particular opinion

5. [uncountable] law the period of time when someone is below the age at which they become legally responsible for their actions

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

minority
noun
ADJ. large, significant, sizeable, substantial | small, tiny | vociferous the view of a small but vociferous minority
ethnic, national, racial, religious | oppressed, persecuted
VERB + MINORITY belong to | discriminate against
MINORITY + NOUN opinion, view | community, group | government
PREP. among a/the ~ You are definitely among the minority.
from a/the~ people from ethnic minorities
in a/the ~ We are in the minority on this issue.
~ of a sizeable minority of the population
PHRASES only a minority Only a tiny minority of holidays are affected.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

minority

a small minority
She is one of a small minority of women working in engineering.
a tiny minority
Only a tiny minority of the population actually commit crimes.
a large minority
A large minority of women feel happier when their husbands leave them.
a substantial/sizeable minority (=a large minority)
A sizeable minority of people sleep less than five hours a night without problems.
a significant minority (=a large and fairly important minority)
A significant minority of older people have difficulty in caring for themselves.
be in a minority
Male students are in a minority in this class.
represent a minority
Old people still only represent a minority of the population.
form a minority (also constitute a minority formal)
This type of cell forms a minority of the cells in the nervous system.
affect a minority
The side effects only affect a minority of people who take the drug.
a minority group
It’s ridiculous to refer to women as a minority group.
a minority interest
Jazz is a minority interest, but it is still an important part of musical studies.
a minority opinion/view
This is a minority view among scientists.
a minority stake (=a number of shares in a company, equalling less than half the total number)
IBM has bought a minority stake in the computer company.
a minority shareholder (=someone who owns less than half the shares in a company)
A minority shareholder with 10% of voting rights refused to accept the plan.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲