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main
1[ meyn ]
adjective
the company's main office;
the main features of a plan.
Synonyms: , , , ,
Antonyms: ,
- sheer; utmost, as strength or force:
to lift a stone by main force.
Synonyms: ,
- of or relating to a broad expanse:
main sea.
- Grammar. syntactically independent; capable of use in isolation. Compare dependent ( def 4 ), independent ( def 14 ), main clause.
- Nautical.
- Obsolete.
- having or exerting great strength or force; mighty.
- having momentous or important results; significant.
noun
- a principal pipe or duct in a system used to distribute water, gas, etc.
Synonyms:
- physical strength, power, or force:
to struggle with might and main.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
- the chief or principal part or point:
The main of their investments was lost during the war.
- Literary. the open ocean; high sea:
the bounding main.
- the mainland.
- Usually mains. a main course in a meal:
The restaurant offers four mains: one chicken, two beef, and one fish.
adverb
- South Midland U.S. (chiefly Appalachian). very; exceedingly:
The dogs treed a main big coon.
verb (used with or without object)
- Slang. mainline none.
main
2[ meyn ]
noun
- a cockfighting match.
Main
3[ meyn; German mahyn ]
noun
- a river in central and W Germany, flowing W from the Bohemian Forest in N Bavaria into the Rhine at Mainz. 305 miles (490 km) long.
Main
1/ ɪ; main /
noun
- a river in central and W Germany, flowing west through Würzburg and Frankfurt to the Rhine. Length: about 515 km (320 miles)
main
2/ ɪ /
adjective
- chief or principal in rank, importance, size, etc
- sheer or utmost (esp in the phrase by main force )
- nautical of, relating to, or denoting any gear, such as a stay or sail, belonging to the mainmast
- obsolete.significant or important
noun
- a principal pipe, conduit, duct, or line in a system used to distribute water, electricity, etc
- plural
- the main distribution network for water, gas, or electricity
- ( as modifier )
mains voltage
- the chief or most important part or consideration
- great strength or force (now chiefly in the phrase ( with ) might and main )
- literary.the open ocean
- archaic.short for Spanish Main
- archaic.short for mainland
- in the main or for the mainon the whole; for the most part
main
3/ ɪ /
noun
- a throw of the dice in dice games
- a cockfighting contest
- a match in archery, boxing, etc
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of main1
51Թ History and Origins
Origin of main1
Origin of main2
Idioms and Phrases
- in the main, for the most part; chiefly:
In the main, the novel was dull reading.
More idioms and phrases containing main
- eye to the main chance
- in the main
- might and main
Example Sentences
"All crews are civilian. We don't belong to any militant group. Our main duty is to offer ambulance services and save people's lives. No more, no less," he said.
Last year, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and several cities on the mainland saw protests by locals against surging tourist numbers, with their impact on rental costs the main complaint.
“One of my main goals for this exhibit is to educate the public, maybe people who don’t understand punk rock,” Collard said.
McKinnor said she has regular town halls with her communities and the main topics of concern she’s heard from constituents are affording rent, rising grocery prices and everyday bills.
"It's shocking that something like that can happen in a main shopping precinct in the middle of the day. It's just so sad."
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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