Definition of dominant
1a : commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others the dominant cultureb : very important, powerful, or successful a dominant theme a dominant industry the team's dominant peformance
2 : overlooking and commanding from a superior position a dominant hill
3 : of, relating to, or exerting ecological or genetic dominance dominant genes dominant and recessive traits
4 biology : being the one of a pair of bodily structures that is the more effective or predominant in action dominant eye used her dominant hand
dominantly
adverbFrom the M-W Editors
Examples of dominant in a Sentence
The company is now dominant in its market.
It is the dominant culture in the region.
the dominant female of the pack
Recent Examples of dominant from the Web
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With dominant possession of the ball, Swansea took the lead in the 39th minute off another corner kick.
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Young had 8.5 sacks and was a dominant pass rusher at times during a breakout junior year in 2015 before he was injured early in the bowl game, requiring surgery and a yearlong recovery.
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Polls show his long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party could suffer a beating at the hands of an upstart party led by Governor Yuriko Koike in elections for Tokyo’s political assembly.
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Alabama has sophomore QB Jalen Hurts, multiple playmakers on offense and a defense that will be young/inexperienced but still probably dominant because of Nick Saban.
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Arrieta hasn’t been the dominant starter that won him the 2015 Cy Young Award and carried into the first three months of 2016.
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The gulf in talent between Cincinnati and Chicago was always evident, and the Fire possessed the ball for a dominant 78 percent of the first half alone.
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Still, coal’s dominant role in providing electricity has been eroding.
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The place is in decay — much like Sears’s once-dominant business model.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dominant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of dominant
Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin dominant-, dominans, present participle of dominari —see dominate
Synonym Discussion of dominant
Other Genetics Terms
dominant
Definition of dominant
1 music : the fifth tone of a major or minor scale (see 6scale 2)
2a genetics : a character or factor that exerts genetic dominance (see dominance 1b)b ecology : any of one or more kinds of organism (such as a species) in an ecological community that exerts a controlling influence on the environment and thereby largely determines what other kinds of organisms are present dominant conifersc sociology : an individual having a controlling, prevailing, or powerful position in a social hierarchy : a dominant (see 1dominant 1) individual in a social hierarchy
Recent Examples of dominant from the Web
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This month, CCU also issued a complaint to Argentina’s antitrust authorities against AB InBev’s Quilmes for anti-competitive practices and abuse of its market dominant, according to Clarin.
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Leonard, the 6-foot-7, 230-pound Most Valuable Player candidate – perhaps the best player on the planet, as teammate Pau Gasol volunteered – was old-school dominant.
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In fact, most residents of those neighborhoods are Spanish-language dominant.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dominant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of dominant
see 1dominant
Other Genetics Terms
DOMINANT Defined for English Language Learners
dominant
playDefinition of dominant for English Language Learners
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: more important, powerful, or successful than most or all others
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: most common
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biology : causing or relating to a characteristic or condition that a child will have if one of the child's parents has it
DOMINANT Defined for Kids
dominant
playDefinition of dominant for Students
1 : controlling or being more powerful or important than all others The team is dominant in its league.
2 : being or produced by a form of a gene that prevents or hides the effect of another form A dominant gene produces brown eye color.
Medical Dictionary
Medical Definition of dominant
dominantly
adverbdominant
Medical Definition of dominant
1: a dominant genetic character or factor
2: a dominant individual in a social hierarchy
Learn More about dominant
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dominant Spanish Central: Translation of dominant Nglish: Translation of dominant for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of dominant for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dominant
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