/maɪ'nɒrətɪ; [US] -'nɔ:r-; maɪ`nɔrətɪ/
n
1 (a) [CGp] (usu sing 通常作单数) smaller number or part (esp of people voting or of votes cast) 少数（尤指投票者或票数）
*Only a minority of British households do/does not have a car. 英国只有少数家庭没有汽车.
* A small minority voted against the motion. 投票反对该动议的人占少数.
* [attrib 作定语] a minority vote, opinion, point of view, etc, ie one cast, held, etc by a smaller number of people 少数人的票、意见、观点等.
(b) [C] small group in a community, nation, etc, differing from others in race, religion, language, etc （一社区、国家等, 其中种族、宗教, 语言等异于他人的）小团体, 少数
*the rights of ethnic minorities 少数民族的权利
* [attrib 作定语] belong to a minority group 属于少数人团体的
* minority rights 少数派的权利. Cf 参看 majority.
2 [U] (law 律) state or period of being a minor 未成年
*be in one's minority, eg under
18 in the UK 尚未成年（如在英国为18岁以下）.
3 (idm 习语) be in a/the minority be in the smaller of esp two voting groups 是少数派（尤指在投票的两部分人中）
*We're in the minority, ie More people are against us than with us. 我们是少数派.
* I'm in a minority of one, ie No one agrees with me. 我是唯一的少数派.

npluralminorities
[singular also + plural verb]
a small group of people or things within a much larger group
≠ majority
　Gaelic is still spoken in Ireland by a tiny minority.
minority of
　A small minority of young people does drink excessively.
　Only a minority of people support these new laws.
small/tiny/substantial/significant minority
　Gay men are a small but significant minority.
minority report
(=a report by a minority of a group who do not agree with the others)
[C usually plural]a) a group of people of a different race, religion etc from most other people in that country
　People from ethnic minorities often face prejudice and discrimination.
　the very large Russian minorities in Ukraine and Moldova
　children from minority groups
　the teaching of minority languages in schools
minority leader/businessman/student etcAmE
　a school with a high proportion of minority students
b)AmE someone who belongs to a group like this
　Businesses are under pressure to hire minorities and women.
be in the/a minority
to form less than half of a group
　Boys are very much in the minority at the dance class.
be in a minority of one
to be the only person in a group who has a particular opinion
[U]law
the period of time when someone is below the age at which they become legally responsible for their actions