major

The word “major” means of great importance, size, or seriousness. In plain terms, big or important — or, as a noun, either a military rank or a chosen university subject.

“Major” is pronounced MAYD-zhuh ([ˈmeɪ̯d͡ʒɚ] in IPA).

Here is “major” used in a sentence: “They made a major decision to relocate the whole team.”

The opposite of “major” — its antonyms — is minor.

Depending on how it is used, “major” can be an adjective, a noun and a verb.

The word “major” comes from Latin. From Latin maior, comparative of magnus ("great, large"). A doublet of "mayor.".

“Major” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

“Major” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: of great importance, size, or seriousness.

They are direct opposites. Major means large, important, or serious, while minor means small, lesser, or not very important. A major injury is severe and a minor one is slight; a major road is a main route and a minor road is a small side street. The pair scales almost any noun up or down.

Both suggest importance, but "major" also carries a sense of size or scale, while "significant" stresses meaning or impact. A major change is big and far-reaching; a significant change is one that matters or makes a real difference. They often overlap and can be swapped in many sentences.

Neither by itself — major is neutral and simply signals scale or importance. It takes its tone from what it describes: "major success" sounds positive, "major problem" sounds negative. On its own it just tells you something is big or serious, not whether that thing is good or bad.