dominant

adjective

dom·i·nant | \-nənt

Definition of dominant

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others the dominant culture

b : very important, powerful, or successful a dominant theme a dominant industry the team's dominant performance

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

dominant

noun

Definition of dominant (Entry 2 of 2)

1 music : the fifth tone of a major or minor scale (see scale entry 6 sense 2)

2a genetics : a character or factor that exerts genetic dominance (see dominance sense 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 conifers

c sociology : an individual having a controlling, prevailing, or powerful position in a social hierarchy : a dominant (see dominant entry 1 sense 1) individual in a social hierarchy

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Choose the Right Synonym for dominant

Adjective

dominant, predominant, paramount, preponderant mean superior to all others in influence or importance. dominant applies to something that is uppermost because ruling or controlling. a dominant social class predominant applies to something that exerts, often temporarily, the most marked influence. a predominant emotion paramount implies supremacy in importance, rank, or jurisdiction. unemployment was the paramount issue in the campaign preponderant applies to an element or factor that outweighs all others in influence or effect. preponderant evidence in her favor

Examples of dominant in a Sentence

Adjective

The company is now dominant in its market. It is the dominant culture in the region. the dominant female of the pack

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

But these are precisely the voices that speak for global society and wince at the force of the state; the voices dominant in the academy and grassroots-left politics that shaped the views of Barack Obama and his closest advisers. — Martin Peretz, WSJ, "‘My Country’ Review: An Act of Witness," 18 Sep. 2018 The German bank, dominant in its domestic market, was desperate to grow in the US. — Salvador Rizzo, Washington Post, "The thinly-sourced theories about Trump’s loans and Justice Kennedy’s son," 12 July 2018 Supporters of the proposed law say letting landlords blackball people who qualify for federal vouchers is partly responsible for San Diego’s stark racial segregation, with minorities dominating southern areas and whites dominant in northern areas. — David Garrick, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Proposed San Diego law would prohibit landlord bias against people with federal housing vouchers," 2 July 2018 Most golfers, however, drive to the resort from throughout the Midwest, with Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin license plates dominant in the parking lot. — Gary D'amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "D'Amato: How Sand Valley Golf Resort is transforming central Wisconsin," 30 June 2018 Trojans junior Kelly Dulaney was dominant in the circle and contributed three hits to a 15-hit attack. — Mike Owens, Philly.com, "Monday's Pa. roundup: Neshaminy, Bristol softball teams fall in state semifinals," 11 June 2018 Dustin Johnson was dominant in winning his 18th PGA Tour title at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis. — Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, "FORE Questions: On Slow Play, 'Backstopping" and Offbeat U.S. Open Storylines," 11 June 2018 The defending champs, meanwhile, improved to 7-1 in Finals games vs. the Cavs with Kevin Durant — who was dominant in Game 3 — on the team. — USA TODAY, "Trump to face chilly reception at G-7 summit," 8 June 2018 Dunn is a proven goal scorer that has been dominant in past NWSL seasons. — Jamie Goldberg, OregonLive.com, "Portland Thorns vs. North Carolina Courage: Players to watch, how to watch online," 29 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

As the first half progressed, and with England dominant, the opportunity was there to put the game away. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "Croatia tops England in extra time to reach World Cup final," 11 July 2018 High pressure remaining dominant also means clouds should be few and far between. — Ian Livingston, Washington Post, "D.C.-area forecast: Seasonable warmth of today trends to potentially dangerous heat by Monday," 16 June 2018 The Mavericks have the ball-dominant Dennis Smith in place, and the possibility of pairing him with Ayton, Bagley or Jaren Jackson Jr. somewhere in this range is tantalizing. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "2018 NBA Draft Lottery Guide: What Are Your Team's Chances?," 14 May 2018 Though once dominant in the classroom, Apple has slipped behind Google and Microsoft in recent years, which sell lower cost tablets and laptops that better fit tight school budgets. — Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY, "Apple unveils new $299 iPad for students--supports AR, Apple Pencil," 27 Mar. 2018 Early in January, the previous version of this team went through growing pains trying to integrate ball-dominant Isaiah Thomas. — Chris Fedor, cleveland.com, "LeBron James splits defenders with fancy behind-the-back dribble through Tristan Thompson's legs (video)," 2 Mar. 2018 Not that the Steelers wouldn't take a dominant, Brown-esque day of production from Martavis Bryant or JuJu Smith-Schuster, but Pittsburgh is probably going to depend on a by-committee approach accentuated by some sporadic playmaking. — Jacob Klinger | Jklinger@pennlive.com, cleveland.com, "Steelers vs Texans: 6 keys to Pittsburgh beating Houston," 24 Dec. 2017 Also, right-handed people are usually left-leg dominant. — Profootballdoc, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Finding the good (or not as bad as it could be) in Deshaun Watson's injury," 3 Nov. 2017 Christian Brothers: The Oregon commit is as dominant of a tight end as this area has seen. — Joe Davidson, sacbee, "Sizing up Bee Player of the Year race: ‘He’s the best player ... bar none.’," 2 Nov. 2017

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.