chief in size, extent, or importance; principal; leading: the company's main office; the main features of a plan.
sheer; utmost, as strength or force: to lift a stone by main force.
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.
of or relating to a mainmast.
noting or pertaining to a sail, yard, boom, etc., or to any rigging belonging to a mainmast.
noting any stay running aft and upward to the head of a mainmast: main topmast stay.
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.
physical strength, power, or force: to struggle with might and main.
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.
Idioms for main
in the main, for the most part; chiefly: In the main, the novel was dull reading.
Origin of main
1
before 900; (noun) Middle English meyn, mayn strength, power, Old English mægen, cognate with Old Norse megin(n), megn strength; (adj.) Middle English mayn, partly <Old Norse megenn, megn strong, partly independent use of Old English mægen (noun) taken as an adj. in compounds, as in mægen-weorc, literally, work of might
SYNONYMS FOR main
1 cardinal, prime, paramount, primary, capital.
2 pure, direct.
7 conduit.
8 might.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR main ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR main
1 secondary, least.
8 weakness.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR main ON THESAURUS.COM
Words nearby main
mailshot, maim, mai mai, Maiman, Maimonides, main, Mainbocher, main body, main brace, main chance, main clause
Definition for main (2 of 3)
main2
[ meyn ]
/ meɪn /
noun
a cockfighting match.
Origin of main
2
1560–70; perhaps special use of main1; compare main chance
Definition for main (3 of 3)
Main
[ meyn; German mahyn ]
/ meɪn; German maɪn /
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.