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# minority

noun (a minority, minorities; minority as an adjective)

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

## Everyday

1. A minority is the smaller number or part of a group, less than half. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#m1)
2. A minority (group) is a group of people who are different in race, religion, language or culture from most people in a country. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#m2)
3. (law) The time when a person is still a child in law (under eighteen in most places). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#m3)

### In the lessons

In maths and data lessons, «a minority» means fewer than half: if 8 of 30 pupils like sprouts, they are a minority. In citizenship lessons, laws protect the rights of minorities. In voting, the minority loses but should still be respected. Phrases: «in the minority», «a small minority», «ethnic minority», «minority language», «minority government».

### Examples

- Only a minority of the class wanted to stay inside. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#x1)
- People who like broccoli are in the minority here. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#x2)
- Welsh is a minority language in the UK. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#x3)
- The law protects religious minorities. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#x4)
- A small minority of fans behaved badly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#x5)
- If 12 out of 30 children chose red, red was the choice of a minority. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#x6)
- The party formed a minority government. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minority/#x7)

### Note

Countable; plural «minorities». Opposite: majority (more than half). Maths: a minority is less than 50 per cent of the whole; with exactly half, there is no majority or minority. A minority is not less important.

## On Mova

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