Sekirov Dictionary

minor

UK /ˈmaɪnə/US /ˈmaɪ.nəɹ/

adjective 14
noun 19
verb 1
forms 5
phrases 3

adjective14

•
smaller or less important than others of the same kind
- It is my intention to wait a few years before I publish any minor poems. — 1819
•
Not serious, not involving risk of death, permanent injury, dangerous surgery, or extended hospitalization.
- She suffered a minor injury.
- There was minor bruising.
•
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
•
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.
•
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.
•
Underage, not having reached legal majority.
- The defendant resides at 123 Fake Street with his partner and two minor children.
•
(US, Canada) Of or related to a minor, a secondary area of undergraduate study.
- The minor requirements only involve about 20 hours of classes.
•
(UK, old-fashioned) The younger of two pupils (or the middle of three) with the same surname.
- He whipt her with a foxes taile, Barnes minor, — 1593
•
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.
Of or related to a minor, a determinate obtained by deleting one or more rows and columns from a matrix.
Including both directed and undirected edges.
(historical) Of or related to the relationship between the longa and the breve in a score.
(historical) Having semibreves twice as long as a minim.
•
(no longer used) 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

noun19

•
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.
•
(US, Canada) A formally recognized secondary area of undergraduate study, requiring fewer course credits than the equivalent major.
- I got a minor in English Lit.
•
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.
•
Ellipsis of minor league (“the lower level of teams”).
- It is certain that the major leagues must depend upon the minors for their recruits. — 1890
•
(US, Canada) A person who is completing or has completed such a course of study.
- I became an English minor.
Ellipsis of minor interval, minor scale, minor mode, minor key, minor chord, or minor triad.
•
Ellipsis of minor penalty (“a penalty requiring a player to leave the ice for 2 minutes unless the opposing team scores”).
- Penalties... First Period... all minors. — 1924
•
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
•
Ellipsis of minor suit, a card of a minor suit.
- Many find it easier to remember 20 for Minors, 30 for Majors and 35 for No Trump. — 1927
Ellipsis of minor term or minor premise.
Short for graph minor.
•
Synonym of behind: a one-point kick.
- Brown from a mark on the magazine wing put up the first minor. — 1903
•
(historical) Ellipsis of minor point (“a lesser score formerly gained by certain actions”).
- At half-time the score was—one goal, three tries, and four minors. — 1883
Any of various noctuid moths in Europe and Asia, chiefly in the Oligia and Mesoligia genera.
Changes rung on six bells.
A leaf-cutter worker ant intermediate in size between a minim and a media.
(no longer used) An adolescent, a person above the legal age of puberty but below the age of majority.
•
(no longer used, rare) The younger brother of a pupil.
- Let my minor pass, you fellows!... Here, Chudleigh, just make room there. — 1864
(no longer used, rare) Synonym of subtrahend, the amount subtracted from a number.

verb1

Used in a phrasal verb: minor in.

forms

minored · minoring · minors · more minor · most minor

Phrases with minor

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