lion's share

noun

1. the largest part or share, especially a disproportionate portion:

   The eldest son received the lion's share of the estate.

lion's share

1. A disproportionately large segment of the whole: “Though we always divided our winnings, somehow Barton always seemed to end up with the lion's share.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of lion's share¹

First recorded in 1780–90; probably after Aesop's fable in which the lion claimed all the spoils of a hunt

Idioms and Phrases

The greater part or most of something, as in Whenever they won a doubles match, Ethel claimed the lion's share of the credit , or As usual, Uncle Bob took the lion's share of the cake . This expression alludes to Aesop's fable about a lion, who got all of a kill because its fellow hunters, an ass, fox, and wolf, were afraid to claim their share. [Late 1700s]

Example Sentences

The duo are now the youngest people to write the lion’s share of a Disney song score, for “Moana 2.”

From Los Angeles Times

Wright explained, "Lou was taking a lion's share. Let's just say it's a dollar. The band gets 15% and he gets 85%. On top of that, he was a sixth member of the band. So he also got a piece out of their 15%."

From Salon

But the garbage clunker received the lion’s share of attention due to the outcry from Puerto Rican voters in swing states.

From Salon

The comment got the lion's share of media attention because it came early in the evening, drew rebukes from influential Puerto Ricans like Bad Bunny, and — most crucially for the horse race-focused media — because Puerto Ricans living in the 50 states have a right to vote in the presidential election.

From Salon

The gang itself was accused of controlling the lion’s share of all Channel crossings from the French coast – with its network delivering equipment from across Europe – until, in late 2021 and 2022, its members were arrested in France, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, as part of the largest international operation of its kind at the time against small-boat smugglers.

From BBC