Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

lion's share

noun

Definition of lion's share

  1. :  the largest portion received the lion's share of the research money

See lion's share defined for English-language learners

See lion's share defined for kids

Explore Merriam-Webster

alt-594ab41a604d2
Trending: Kim and Kanye Might Have Hired a Surrogate Mother
istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz
image599301899
Pretty in 'Pink'
alt-594d2b6325245
'Pride': The Word That Went From Vice to Strength

Examples of lion's share in a Sentence

  1. She claimed the lion's share of the credit for the show's success.

  2. the lead actress deservedly got the lion's share of credit for the show's success

1742

First Known Use of lion's share

1742

lion's share Synonyms

Synonyms
bulk, generality, majority, mass, preponderance
Antonyms
minority
Related Words
plurality; maximum, most; abundance, heap, loads, lot, much, oodles, plenty, profusion, reams, scads, wealth
Near Antonyms
couple, few, handful, smattering, sprinkling; least, minimum

LION'S SHARE Defined for English Language Learners

lion's share

noun

Definition of lion's share for English Language Learners

  • : the largest part of something

Learn More about lion's share

  1. See words that rhyme with lion's share Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for lion's share

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up lion's share? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

threshold

play

the point at which something begins

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. surrogate mother From TMZ to the dictionary.

  2. zealot A fanatical partisan

  3. stonewall to be uncooperative, obstructive, or evasive

  4. scurrilous Containing obscenities, abuse, or slander

  5. depose That word might not mean what you think it means.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

lion's share

WORD GAMES

Take a 3-minute break and test your skills!

  • istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
  • Which is a synonym of garner?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Bee Cubed

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-594d2b6325245
'Pride': The Word That Went From Vice to Strength

Do you take pride in Pride?

image599301899
Pink: The Color that Will Change Your Life

From Fuchsia to Baker-Miller Pink

image2144101468
That Sucks Word Alternatives

Your day is the worst. Your vocabulary is the best.

alt-5931949575ca5
'All the Feels,' All the Time

Once more, with 'feels'

Ask the Editors

decimate-video
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?

Language changes

serial-comma
The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

istock-refers-to-this-as-a-tumble-of-strawberries-which-sounded-pretty-nice-to-us
June 2017 Words of the Day Quiz

Summer's first WOTD quiz.

Take the quiz
alt-5941ad7527c3c
Yearbook Superlatives Quiz

Is that your picture under "Largest Vocabulary"?

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Bee Cubed
Bee Cubed

Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.

Play the game
Examples: lion's share in a Sentence