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dominance

noun
dom·​i·​nance | \ ˈdä-mə-nən(t)s How to pronounce dominance (audio) , ˈdäm-nən(t)s\

Definition of dominance

1 : the fact or state of being dominant: such as
a sociology : controlling, prevailing, or powerful position especially in a social hierarchy (see hierarchy sense 4) male dominance political dominance companies competing for dominance in the market dominance over their rivals
b genetics : the property of one of a pair of alleles or traits that suppresses expression (see expression sense 1b(4)) of the other in the heterozygous condition
c ecology : the influence or control over ecological communities exerted by a dominant (see dominant entry 2 sense 2b)
2 biology : functional (see functional sense 1b) asymmetry between a pair of bodily structures (such as the right and left hands) right brain dominance
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Examples of dominance in a Sentence

although Napoléon had achieved dominance over the European continent, Great Britain still ruled the waves the professor's dominance in the field of ancient Greek history

Recent Examples on the Web

 The tape from Coburn’s final seasons at Westfield is filled with disruptive dominance. — Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, "Texas DT Keondre Coburn ready to step into spotlight," 14 Aug. 2019 This way of seeing the world helped reinforce Europe’s sense of dominance. — David James, Anchorage Daily News, "In ‘North Pole: Nature and Culture,’ grappling with a place beyond time and measure," 3 Aug. 2019 The lawsuit comes at a time when tech companies, including Amazon, are facing anti-trust scrutiny from Capitol Hill about their market dominance. — Kaya Yurieff, CNN, "eBay claims Amazon managers illegally tried to recruit its top sellers," 1 Aug. 2019 Sale came in 5-1 with a 1.60 ERA in nine career games in Toronto, but couldn't extend that streak of dominance. — Ian Harrison, courant.com, "Blue Jays hit 3 home runs off Chris Sale, beat Red Sox 6-3," 4 July 2019 Today’s Republican majorities regularly enjoy a smaller edge than the Democrats averaged over that half century of dominance. — Dan Mclaughlin, National Review, "How Much Does Gerrymandering Really Matter?," 28 June 2019 But their edge over Ms. Harris (who raised $911,000 in New York in the first quarter) was small compared with Ms. Harris’s dominance in California. — Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, "Wall Street Donors Are Swooning for Mayor Pete. (They Like Biden and Harris, Too.)," 16 June 2019 Since Darwin’s time, biologists pursuing the answer to that abominable mystery have sought to explain how the flowering plants could possibly have achieved this level of dominance in such a relatively short time. — Quanta Magazine, "With ‘Downsized’ DNA, Flowering Plants Took Over the World," 16 June 2019 However, the Reds won that World Series, which coincided with Republican dominance in state government. — Seth A. Richardson, cleveland.com, "Ohio Republican Party appears to back Reds over Indians in Battle of Ohio," 11 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dominance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of dominance

1819, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for dominance

see dominant entry 1

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More Definitions for dominance

dominance

noun
dom·​i·​nance | \ ˈdä-mə-nəns How to pronounce dominance (audio) \

Kids Definition of dominance

: the state or fact of being in control of or having more power than another The largest wolf had dominance over the pack.

dominance

noun
dom·​i·​nance | \ ˈdäm(-ə)-nən(t)s How to pronounce dominance (audio) \

Medical Definition of dominance

: the fact or state of being dominant: as
a : the relative position of an individual in a social hierarchy — compare pecking order
b : the property of one of a pair of alleles or traits that suppresses expression of the other in the heterozygous condition
c : functional asymmetry between a pair of bodily structures (as the right and left hands)

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