minor party

noun

: a political party whose electoral strength is so small as to prevent its gaining control of a government except in rare and exceptional circumstances

Examples of minor party in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Fusion allows minor parties to wield real influence over elections and policy and to serve as something more than spoilers. — Joseph Burns, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2026 Enforcing the rule also would be a major headache for TV stations as all legally qualified candidates on minor party tickets could ask for airtime. — Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2026 Structurally, the law is unfair for Libertarians, Greens, other minor parties, and all NPA voters. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026 The commission also disqualified the candidate for opposition party ACT-Wazalendo, leaving only minor parties to take on Hassan. — Reuters 20 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for minor party

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of minor party was in 1949

Rhymes for minor party

See All Rhymes for minor party

Browse Nearby Words

minor order
minor party
minor penalty
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Minor party.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minor%20party. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

minor party

noun
: a political party whose electoral strength is so small as to prevent its gaining control of a government except in rare and exceptional circumstances
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All