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Glite Dictionary
the vast majority

the vast majority

355 2.6
A very large part of a group that includes almost all members
  • noun
: gran mayoría
  • The vast majority of Americans expect me to keep my head and save them from this awful mess.
  • in the vast majority of cases
  • the vast majority of people
  • the vast majority of research

But I also think that the vast majority of Americans are against it.

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Examples

  • The vast majority of students passed the exam with flying colors.

  • But I also think that the vast majority of Americans are against it.

    Shawn Ryan Show

  • All right, The vast majority of people are employees.

  • So now let me say again, the vast majority of people online are great.

  • And so does the vast majority of the American people!

    The Candidate (1972)

  • But in the vast majority of cases, the red flags were there.

  • Yes, for the vast majority of folks that is the easiest thing to do.

  • But what we see is that the vast majority of people regain that weight.

  • That's why the vast majority of people are better off buying index funds.

  • Blue states generate the vast majority of America's gross domestic product.

Synonyms

majority
vsthe vast majority
∞ 2.1

More than half of the people or things in a group

means nearly all members, an overwhelming portion of the group

Antonyms

minority
259 2.8

The smaller group that has fewer members or votes

How Many

all
∞ 1.0
the vast majority
355 2.6
most
  • Formal
∞ 1.0
many
9 1.0
some
∞ 1.0
few
∞ 1.0
none
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

the vast majority singular
the vast majorities plural

Morphology

the + vast + majority

The meaning 'nearly all' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'vast' (very large) with 'majority' (the larger portion of a group); the determiner 'the' is just grammatical. This compositional pattern is common and predictable (and found cross-linguistically), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should understand the expression.

Etymology

The vast majority joins vast, meaning very large, and majority, meaning the bigger part of a group, creating the image of a huge crowd where almost everyone is together. That's why it means 'nearly all'.