major party

noun

: a political party having electoral strength sufficient to permit it to win control of a government usually with comparative regularity and when defeated to constitute the principal opposition to the party in power

Examples of major party in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Public polling has been inconsistent, and in part because the country has never had a felon as a major party’s presidential nominee, there’s not much trust in the results. Nicholas Nehamas, New York Times, 28 May 2024 Only two women ran as major party candidates for vice president ‒ Democrat Geraldine Ferraro, with Walter Mondale, in 1984 and Republican Sarah Palin, with John McCain, in 2008 ‒ before Kamala Harris succeeded in winning the post with President Joe Biden in 2020. Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 22 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for major party 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'major party.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of major party was in 1950

Dictionary Entries Near major party

Cite this Entry

“Major party.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/major%20party. Accessed 2 Jun. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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