Meaning & use
majoring
Last updated
“majoring” is a form of “major”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitiveAmerican
Studying a main subject at a college or university, especially in the US.
Grammar: No object; always used in the progressive form 'majoring' and followed by 'in' plus the subject: She is majoring in biology.
Patterns
- majoring in something
- be majoring in something
He is majoring in economics at the state university.
She started out majoring in chemistry but switched to physics.
They are both majoring in music education.
verbintransitivefigurative
Focusing on one area as the most important part of an activity or job.
Grammar: Used with 'in' to name the area: The team is majoring in defense this season.
Patterns
- majoring in something
The company is majoring in renewable energy projects this year.
For now, the newspaper is majoring in local news rather than international coverage.
Common combinations
- majoring in
- She is majoring in computer science.
- currently majoring
- He is currently majoring in history and plans to teach.
- thinking about majoring
- I'm thinking about majoring in psychology.
Synonyms and how they differ
- studying
- Studying is more general and can refer to any course or subject; majoring specifically means your main degree subject.
- specializing
- Specializing is used for a focus within a profession or later studies, not usually for an undergraduate main subject.
Word family
Commonly confused: majoring or majored?
majoring vs majored
'Majored' is the past tense: She majored in art. 'Majoring' is used for an action happening now or around now: She is majoring in art.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence.
Choose one answer.
The verb 'major' is followed by 'in' before the subject: major in biology. The other prepositions do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “majoring”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.