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dominant
[ dom-uh-nuhnt ]
adjective
- ruling, governing, or controlling; having or exerting authority or influence:
dominant in the chain of command.
Synonyms: ,
- occupying or being in a commanding or elevated position.
- predominant; main; major; chief:
Corn is the dominant crop of Iowa.
- Genetics. of or relating to a dominant.
- Music. pertaining to or based on the dominant:
the dominant chord.
noun
- Genetics.
- the one of a pair of alternative alleles that masks the effect of the other when both are present in the same cell or organism.
- the trait or character determined by such an allele. Compare recessive ( defs 4, 5 ).
- alsocalledcomma Informal, dom. the participant in a BDSM sexual encounter or relationship to whom power and control are transferred. dominatrix ( def 1 ), domme.
- Music. the fifth tone of a diatonic scale.
- Ecology. any of one or more types of plants, or sometimes animals, that by virtue of abundance, size, or habits exert so important an influence on the conditions of an area as to determine, to a great extent, what other organisms can live there.
dominant
/ ˈɒɪəԳ /
adjective
- having primary control, authority, or influence; governing; ruling
- predominant or primary
the dominant topic of the day
- occupying a commanding position
- genetics Compare recessive
- (of an allele) producing the same phenotype in the organism irrespective of whether the allele of the same gene is identical or dissimilar
- (of a character) controlled by such a gene
- music of or relating to the fifth degree of a scale
- ecology (of a plant or animal species within a community) more prevalent than any other species and determining the appearance and composition of the community
noun
- genetics
- a dominant allele or character
- an organism having such an allele or character
- music
- the fifth degree of a scale and the second in importance after the tonic
- a key or chord based on this
- ecology a dominant plant or animal in a community
dominant
- Relating to the form of a gene that expresses a trait, such as hair color, in an individual organism. The dominant form of a gene overpowers the counterpart, or recessive, form located on the other of a pair of chromosomes.
- Relating to the trait expressed by such a gene.
- See more at inheritanceCompare recessive
- Being a species that has the greatest effect within its ecological community, especially by determining the presence, abundance, or type of other species. As a plant community progresses through stages of succession, different species may become dominant for a period until the climax community is reached, at which point the dominant species remains stable until a major disruption occurs. Among animals, the dominant species in a community is generally the top predator or the most abundant or widespread species.
- Being an animal that occupies the highest position in a social hierarchy and has the greatest access to resources such as food and a mate or mates. Social dominance is gained and maintained through factors such as size and aggressiveness.
Derived Forms
- ˈdzԲԳٱ, adverb
Other Word Forms
- dz··ԲԳ· adverb
- ԴDz·dz··ԲԳ adjective noun
Word History and Origins
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
The new regs for 2026 seem like a lottery for teams who either nail or fail them, leading to a dominant team and those lagging behind.
Google is still by far the dominant player in search, capturing roughly 89% of global traffic, according to analyst estimates.
"We've got an entire kingdom of life on the planet, which, for much of the dominant culture, is very disregardable or disregarded, but is absolutely critical to all life on Earth."
England's pack have been dominant up front in all four of their wins during this year's Six Nations.
Against Mallorca at the weekend, even with seven changes and a depleted XI, Barca delivered their most statistically dominant performance in years - 40 shots on goal.
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