[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/minor/)

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# minor

adjective (minor); noun (a minor, minors)

«minor» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Small or not very important; not serious: «a minor injury». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#m1)
2. (noun) In law, a person who is not yet an adult (under 18 in many countries). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#m2)
3. In music, a minor key or chord often sounds sad. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#m3)
4. (US) A second subject studied at university. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#m4)

### In the lessons

In safety and first aid lessons: «minor cuts and scrapes» can be cleaned and covered with a plaster, but serious ones need a doctor. In law and online life: minors cannot buy some things and need a parent's permission. In music lessons: major sounds happy, minor sounds sad. Phrases: «a minor problem», «a minor character» (in a story).

### Examples

- It was only a minor cut, so Mum put on a plaster. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#x1)
- There was a minor accident in the car park. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#x2)
- The shop cannot sell knives to minors. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#x3)
- This song is in a minor key and sounds sad. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#x4)
- The dog is a minor character in the book. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#x5)
- We had a minor problem with the projector. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#x6)
- Most bumps in the playground are minor. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#x7)
- Minor punctuation errors (omitted or incorrect punctuation, mismatched quote marks etc.) have been amended without note. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/#x8)

### Note

Opposite: «major». Noun «minority» means the smaller part of a group. Do not confuse with «miner» (a person who works in a mine), which sounds the same.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «minor» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minor/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«minor» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/minor.html) on Mova free.