minor

[ mahy-ner ]

/ ˈmaɪ nər /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR minor ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

lesser, as in size, extent, or importance, or being or noting the lesser of two: a minor share.

not serious, important, etc.: a minor wound; a minor role.

having low rank, status, position, etc.: a minor official.

under the legal age of full responsibility.

Education. of or relating to a field of study constituting a student's minor.

Music.

(of an interval) smaller by a chromatic half step than the corresponding major interval.
(of a chord) having a minor third between the root and the note next above it.

of or relating to the minority.

(initial capital letter) (of two male students in an English public school who have the same surname) being the younger or lower in standing: Jackson Minor sits over here.

noun

a person under the legal age of full responsibility.

a person of inferior rank or importance in a specified group, class, etc.

Education.

a subject or a course of study pursued by a student, especially a candidate for a degree, subordinately or supplementarily to a major or principal subject or course.
a subject for which less credit than a major is granted in college or, occasionally, in high school.

Music. a minor interval, chord, scale, etc.

Mathematics. the determinant of the matrix formed by crossing out the row and column containing a given element in a matrix.

(initial capital letter) Friar Minor.

the minors, Sports. the minor leagues.

verb (used without object)

to choose or study as a secondary academic subject or course: to major in sociology and minor in art history.

Origin of minor

1250–1300; Middle English < Latin: smaller, less; akin to Old English min small, Old Norse minni smaller, Gothic minniza younger, Sanskrit mīnāti (he) diminishes, destroys

SYNONYMS FOR minor

1 smaller, inferior, secondary, subordinate.

3 petty, unimportant, small.

9 child, adolescent.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR minor ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR minor

1 major.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR minor ON THESAURUS.COM

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH minor

miner minor myna

Words nearby minor

minnow, minny, minoan, minocycline, minogue, minor, minor agglutinin, minor axis, minor canon, minor coin, minor duodenal papilla

Definition for minor (2 of 2)

Minor

[ mahy-ner ]

/ ˈmaɪ nər /

noun

a male given name.

Example sentences from the Web for minor

A couple of people were treated for minor injuries but no major incidents occurred.

Slow Motion Tiger Jump, a Tornado at the Rose Bowl and More Viral Videos |The Daily Beast Video |January 4, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
The numbers reinforce another article in the Post, in which cops confessed to “turning a blind eye” to minor crimes.

Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown |Batya Ungar-Sargon |January 1, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
It starts off like any other Lana tune, replete with minor chords and humming, distorted vocals.

The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More |Marlow Stern |December 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He goes on to claim that these "minor insults" along with the other reveals have no news value.

Exclusive: Aaron Sorkin Thinks Male Film Roles Have Bigger ‘Degree of Difficulty’ Than Female Ones |William Boot |December 15, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Once he was wearing bracelets, Wright quickly confessed to knowing that “Jane Doe” was a minor, according to court papers.

The Navy ‘Hero’ Who Pimped an HIV-Positive Teen |M.L. Nestel |December 11, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
"I shouldn't think so," said the doctor, as if the point was a minor one.

The Price of Love |Arnold Bennett
Thus also with the shaping of character, and thus was Mr. Marrapit, collected in minor affairs, mighty in this crisis.

Once Aboard The Lugger |Arthur Stuart-Menteth Hutchinson
The Minor Poems, not hitherto collected, will reward critical perusal.

The Complete Poems of Sir John Davies. Volume 1 of 2. |John Davies
Why may not the key change to a minor, and yet the voice be the same?

The Expositor's Bible: The Psalms, Vol. 1 |A. Maclaren
Stradella's heart beat fast and faintly, and his fingers trembled when they touched the strings and made the first minor chord.

Stradella |F(rancis) Marion Crawford

British Dictionary definitions for minor

minor

/ (ˈmaɪnə) /

adjective

lesser or secondary in amount, extent, importance, or degree a minor poet; minor burns

of or relating to the minority

below the age of legal majority

music

(of a scale) having a semitone between the second and third and fifth and sixth degrees (natural minor)See also harmonic minor scale, melodic minor scale
(of a key) based on the minor scale
(postpositive) denoting a specified key based on the minor scaleC minor
(of an interval) reduced by a semitone from the major
(of a chord, esp a triad) having a minor third above the root
(esp in jazz) of or relating to a chord built upon a minor triad and containing a minor seventha minor ninth See also minor key, minor mode

logic (of a term or premise) having less generality or scope than another term or proposition

US education of or relating to an additional secondary subject taken by a student

(immediately postpositive) British the younger or junior: sometimes used after the surname of a schoolboy if he has an older brother in the same school Hunt minor

(postpositive) bell-ringing of, relating to, or denoting a set of changes rung on six bells grandsire minor

noun

a person or thing that is lesser or secondary

a person below the age of legal majority

US and Canadian education a subsidiary subject in which a college or university student needs fewer credits than in his or her major

music a minor key, chord, mode, or scale

logic a minor term or premise

maths

a determinant associated with a particular element of a given determinant and formed by removing the row and column containing that element
Also called: cofactor, signed minor the number equal to this reduced determinant

(capital) another name for Minorite

verb

(intr usually foll by in) US education to take a minor

Compare major

Word Origin for minor

C13: from Latin: less, smaller; related to Old High German minniro smaller, Gothic minniza least, Latin minuere to diminish, Greek meiōn less

Medical definitions for minor

minor

[ mī′nər ]

adj.

Lesser or smaller in amount, extent, or size.

Lesser in seriousness or danger.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

minor

adjective

noun

verb (used without object)

Origin of minor

SYNONYMS FOR minor

ANTONYMS FOR minor

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH minor

Words nearby minor

Definition for minor (2 of 2)

noun

Example sentences from the Web for minor

British Dictionary definitions for minor

adjective

noun

verb

Word Origin for minor

Medical definitions for minor

adj.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

minor

adjective

noun

verb (used without object)

Origin of minor

SYNONYMS FOR minor

ANTONYMS FOR minor

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH minor

Words nearby minor

Definition for minor (2 of 2)

noun

Words related to minor

Example sentences from the Web for minor

British Dictionary definitions for minor

adjective

noun

verb

Word Origin for minor

Medical definitions for minor

adj.