minor
Syllables: mi·norUK/ˈmaɪnə//ˈmaɪ.nəɹ/
minor adjective: lesser, smaller in importance, size, degree, seriousness, or significance compared to another option, particularly. Also the ellipsis of minor interval.
Adjective
minor (comparative more minor, superlative most minor)
- Lesser, smaller in importance, size, degree, seriousness, or significance compared to another option, particularly
- of minor importance
- a minor poet
- Underage, not having reached legal majority.
- The defendant resides at 123 Fake Street with his partner and two minor children.
- Not serious, not involving risk of death, permanent injury, dangerous surgery, or extended hospitalization.
- She suffered a minor injury.
- There was minor bruising.
- Smaller by a diatonic semitone than the equivalent major interval.
- The musical interval between C and E♭ is a minor third while C to E is a major third.
- ...a certaine Fraction, which may be the difference betwixt a Tone major and a Tone minor, which we nominate a Schism...1653 [1618], René Descartes, translated by Lord Brouncker, Excellent Compendium of Musick, page 30
- Incorporating a minor third interval above the (in scales) tonic or (in chords) root note, (also figurative) tending to produce a dark, discordant, sad, or pensive effect.
- Beethoven's melancholy Moonlight Sonata is scored in the key of C# minor, using the diatonic scale C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A, and B, but modulates throughout.
- The minor mode of D is tender.1772, William Jones, “On the Arts, Commonly Called Imitative”, in Poems..., page 209
- Of or related to a minor, a secondary area of undergraduate study.
- The minor requirements only involve about 20 hours of classes.
- Of or related to a minor, a determinate obtained by deleting one or more rows and columns from a matrix.
- Acting as the subject of the second premise of a categorical syllogism, which then also acts as the subject of its conclusion.
- The minor term of John Stuart Mill's famous syllogism—usually mistakenly credited to Aristotle—is Socrates; the major term is mortal.
- The younger of two pupils (or the middle of three) with the same surname.
- He whipt her with a foxes taile, Barnes minor,c. 1593, Henry Chettle, Kind-harts Dreame, sig. C2
- Espionage... was a field that had sophisticated itself since the distant time when Patullo Minor... had enthralled his school-fellows with his hazardous escapades.1978, John Innes Mackintosh Stewart, Full Term, page 250
- Of or related to the relationship between the longa and the breve in a score.
- The minor perfect mode was marked by one single line which crossed three spaces, and the longue was equal to three breves... The minor imperfect mode was marked by a line which crossed two spaces only, and its longue was equal only to two breves.1779, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, translated by William Waring, Complete Dictionary of Music, page 243
- Having semibreves twice as long as a minim.
- Josquin works in minor prolation—that is, works in which the signature indicates that a semibreve is equal to two minims, often have a 3 as a medial signature for a few measures, indicating that until the 3 is canceled by the reappearance of a sign for minor prolation, there are to be 3 minims to a...1969, Arthur Mendel, "Some Preliminary Attempts at Computer-Assisted Style Analysis in Music", Computers and the Humanities, Vol. 4, No. 1, p. 45
- Of or related to a minority party.
- ...that the Minor part of the Lords might joyn with the Major part of the House of Commons...1642, Charles I, His Majesties Answer to a Printed Book Entituled A Remonstrance..., page 13
- In every other, the minor will be preferred by me to the major vote.1796 December 27, Thomas Jefferson, letter
- Having little worth or ability; paltry; mean.
- And whenever Dre tore her off some money, she always split it up between his kids. She would've felt real minor taking all his cash and spending it on herself, knowing how needy his babies were.2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 128
- Including both directed and undirected edges.
Noun
minor (plural minors)
- A child, a person who has not reached the age of majority, consent, etc. and is legally subject to fewer responsibilities and less accountability and entitled to fewer legal rights and privileges.
- No, he can't get a mortgage or sell the house. He's still a minor. For the most part, he can't sign a legally binding contract.
- He was only a minor when he succeeded his father to the barony.
- A lesser person or thing, a person, group, or thing of minor rank or in the minor leagues.
- He plays in the minors.
- She hasn't won a minor since the Sichuan Open.
- A formally recognized secondary area of undergraduate study, requiring fewer course credits than the equivalent major.
- I got a minor in English Lit.
- A person who is completing or has completed such a course of study.
- I became an English minor.
- A determinant of a square matrix obtained by deleting one or more rows and columns.
- ...the whole of a system of rth minors being zero...1850, James Joseph Sylvester, London, Edinburgh, & Dublin Philosophical Magazine..., volume 37, page 366
- Let A be a non-zero matrix of rank r over a field. Then A has a non-zero r-minor and all s-minors of A are zero for s > r.1986, C. W. Norman, Undergraduate Algebra, →ISBN, page 315
- Synonym of behind: a one-point kick.
- Brown from a mark on the magazine wing put up the first minor.1903 May 16, Sporting News, Tasmania, page 4
- Synonyms:
- behind
- Any of various noctuid moths in Europe and Asia, chiefly in the Oligia and Mesoligia genera.
- A leaf-cutter worker ant intermediate in size between a minim and a media.
- Changes rung on six bells.
- An adolescent, a person above the legal age of puberty but below the age of majority.
- Synonym of subtrahend, the amount subtracted from a number.
- Synonyms:
- subtrahend
- The younger brother of a pupil.
- Let my minor pass, you fellows!... Here, Chudleigh, just make room there.1864, Eton School Days, page 82
Verb
minor (third-person singular simple present minors, present participle minoring, simple past and past participle minored)
- Used in a phrasal verb: minor in.
Proper noun capitalized: Minor
Minor (plural Minors)
- A surname.
Also used as
minor is also the ellipsis of minor interval.
minor is also the alternative letter-case form of Minor.
minor is also the ellipsis of minor term or minor premise.
minor is also the ellipsis of minor league.
minor is also the ellipsis of minor penalty.
minor is also the ellipsis of minor point.
minor meaning in Hindi, Marathi, Urdu and Bengali
minor in Hindi
- someone below the legal age of majority
- अवयस्क avayask, किशोर kiśor, नाबालिग़ nābāliġ
minor in Marathi
- किरकोळ
minor in Urdu
- نابالغ
minor in Bengali
- someone below the legal age of majority
- নাবালক nabalok, অপ্রাপ্তবয়স্ক opraptoboẏosko
More languagesFewer languages
- minor in Telugu
- మైనర్
- minor in Punjabi
- ਨਾਬਾਲਗ, ਮਾਮੂਲੀ
- minor in Nepali
- माइनर
- minor in Tagalog
- kalit-an, menor de edad
- minor in Indonesian
- anak
- minor in Persian
- مینور minor, کسی که زیر سن قانونی است
- minor in Thai
- ผู้เยาว์ pûu-yao
Examples of minor in a sentence
- He has a minor case of puppy love.
- The play is considered one of his minors.
- It is my intention to wait a few years before I publish any minor poems.1819 January 2, John Keats, letter:
- Briggs that every case of vaccination is "a minor case of smallpox," and that every such case of smallpox "should be carefully watched until all danger is passed".1899 October, Edward Pollock Anshutz, Homoepathic Envoy, Vol. 10, No. 8, p. 58
- The first chorus: ‘Behold the Lamb of God’, with its dark minor chords, brings threatening clouds over us.1843 March, United States Magazine & Democratic Review, page 273:
- Modern harmonists are unwilling to acknowledge that the minor triad is less consonant than the major.1880, Edmund Gurney, The Power of Sound, pages 271–272:
Synonyms of minor
Antonyms
- major
- antonym(s) of
Forms of minor
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more minor |
| superlative | most minor |
| alternative form | miner |
| alternative form | maner |
| alternative form | minore |
| alternative form | minour |
| alternative form | mynor |
| alternative form | mynour |
| alternative form | mynowr |
| alternative form | mi |
| Noun | |
| plural | minors |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | minors |
| present participle | minoring |
| past participle | minored |
| past | minored |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Minors |
Origin of minor
From Middle English minor, menor, menour, etc., from Latin minor (“lesser; young; young person”) both directly and via Norman and Middle French menor, menour, etc. Doublet of minus but not mini-. Cognate with minister, minify, Minorca, Menshevik, and possibly minnow. Compare Latin minimum and minuō, Old High German minniro, Cornish minow.
Words formed from minor
- A-flat minor
- A minor
- A-sharp minor
- B-flat minor
- B minor
- C minor
- C-sharp minor
- D minor
- D-sharp minor
- E-flat minor
- E minor
- F minor
- F-sharp minor
- G minor
- graph minor
- G-sharp minor
- harmonic minor scale
- in a minor key
- labia minor
- melodic minor scale
- minor arcana
- minorate
- minor axis
- minor canon
- minor celebrity
- minor child
- minor chord
- minor civil division
- minor diagonal
- minor diameter
- Minoress
- Minor Feast
- minor interval
- minorise
- minorish
- Minorite
- minority
- minorize
- minor key
- minor-league
- minor league
- minorly
- minor miracle
- minor mode
- minor ninth
- minor order
- minor party
- minor piece
- minor planet
- minor premier
- minor premiers
- minor premiership
- minor premise
- minor prophet
- minor scale
- minor second
- minor sentence
- minor seventh
- minor seventh chord
- minorship
Phrases with minor
- minor in
- Leo Minor
- Asia Minor
- minor axes
- minor keys
- minor suit
- minor term
- Ursa Minor
- Friar Minor
- minor modes
- minor point
- minor sixth
59 more phrasesFewer phrases
- minor suits
- minor terms
- minor third
- minor triad
- psoas minor
- Friars Minor
- mature minor
- minor canons
- minor chords
- minor ninths
- minor orders
- minor pieces
- minor points
- minor scales
- minor sixths
- minor thirds
- minor triads
- Sister Minor
- Armenia Minor
- minor leaguer
- minor leagues
- minor parties
- minor penalty
- minor planets
- minor seconds
- minor subject
- Sisters Minor
- Caucasus Minor
- harmonic minor
- minor children
- minor leaguers
- minor miracles
- minor premises
- minor prophets
- minor sevenths
- Hungarian minor
- Lithuania Minor
- minor diagonals
- minor diameters
- minor intervals
- minor penalties
- minor sentences
- pectoralis minor
- St Bride's Minor
- minor celebrities
- zygomaticus minor
- minor premierships
- natural minor scale
- melodic minor scales
- minor seventh chords
- natural minor scales
- harmonic minor scales
- minor civil divisions
- Order of Friars Minor
- minor attracted people
- minor attracted person
- minor attracted persons
- Santorini's minor caruncle
- United States minor outlying islands
Words that rhyme with minor
Questions about minor
- What does minor mean?
- Minor means lesser, smaller in importance, size, degree, seriousness, or significance compared to another option, particularly.
- What is minor in Hindi?
- Minor in Hindi is अवयस्क (avayask), किशोर (kiśor), नाबालिग़ (nābāliġ). See Minor meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use minor in a sentence?
- He has a minor case of puppy love.
- What part of speech is minor?
- Minor can be an adjective, a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce minor?
- Minor is pronounced /ˈmaɪ.nəɹ/ (US).
Words near minor in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: minor (page history and authors); Minor (page history and authors); minor (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); minor (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); minor (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); minor (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); minor (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-minor.ogg.
Cite this entry: “minor.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/minor. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.