dominate

Dominate is a verb meaning to have command or influence over someone or something; to be the most powerful, prominent, or controlling element in a situation. The term implies a position of strength relative to others and often carries connotations of priority access to resources or overriding presence. It is used across domains, including politics, business, sports, and social dynamics, to describe asymmetrical power or emphasis.

Originating from Latin dominare (to rule), from dominus meaning master or lord, dominate entered English via Old French and Middle English. The related noun forms are dominance and dominate as a present-tense verb, while dominant is the adjective describing such supremacy.

In biology and ecology, dominance refers to a hierarchy among individuals or species. A dominant individual typically has priority access to resources and mating opportunities, while subordinate individuals defer. Dominance can be behavioral, physiological, or ecological and may change with context or development. In social species, dominance relationships influence group structure, aggression, and reproduction.

In genetics, dominance describes how alleles influence phenotype. A dominant allele masks the effect of a recessive allele in a heterozygote; incomplete dominance and codominance describe other patterns of allele interaction. Classic examples include pea flower color and human blood type, illustrating how dominance relationships affect trait expression across generations.

In mathematics and economics, the term appears in phrases such as dominant term, dominant eigenvalue, or dominant strategy. A dominant strategy yields the best outcome regardless of others’ actions in a game; asymptotically, a dominant term governs the behavior of an expression. The concept helps describe where the most influential factors lie in a model or system.