majority is or are??

Question

In politics majority is / are like this??

Goodman · Accepted Answer

Majority takes "is" in most context.

Suhanii · Answer

Hmm

Thanks.

Kooyeen · Answer

It depends, but it's often plural. Maybe this post will help you:

Goodman · Answer

I'll say it depends. It may have to do with what context it's used but by and large, I see it as more frequently used in singular context.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. majority

SYLLABICATION: ma·jor·i·ty http://www.EnglishForward.com/61/12.html: http://www.EnglishForward.com/61/wavs/85/M0048500.wav m (missing image) -jôr (missing image) (missing image) -t (missing image) , -j (missing image) r (missing image) - NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. ma·jor·i·ties
1. The greater number or part; a number more than half of the total. 2. The amount by which the greater number of votes cast, as in an election, exceeds the total number of remaining votes. 3. The political party, group, or faction having the most power by virtue of its larger representation or electoral strength. 4. Law The status of having reached full legal age, with attendant rights and responsibilities. 5. The military rank, commission, or office of a major. 6. Obsolete The fact or state of being greater; superiority. ETYMOLOGY: French majorité, from Medieval Latin m (missing image) i (missing image) rit (missing image) s, from Latin m (missing image) ior, greater. See http://www.EnglishForward.com/61/roots/IE308.html in Appendix I. USAGE NOTE: When majority refers to a particular number of votes, it takes a singular verb: Her majority was five votes. His majority has been growing by 5 percent every year. When it refers to a group of persons or things that are in the majority, it may take either a singular or plural verb, depending on whether the group is considered as a whole or as a set of people considered individually. So we say The majority elects (not elect) the candidate it wants (not they want), since the election is accomplished by the group as a whole; but The majority of the voters live (not lives) in the city, since living in the city is something that each voter does individually. •Majority is often preceded by great (but not by greater) in expressing emphatically the sense of “most of”: The great majority approved. The phrase greater majority is appropriate only when considering two majorities: He won by a greater majority in this election than in the last.

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