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in the main

 - 3 dictionary results
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main

1  [meyn]
Use in the main in a Sentence
–adjective
1. chief in size, extent, or importance; principal; leading: the company's main office; the main features of a plan.
2. sheer; utmost, as strength or force: to lift a stone by main force.
3. of or pertaining to a broad expanse: main sea.
4. Grammar. syntactically independent; capable of use in isolation. Compare dependent (def. 4), independent (def. 14), main clause.
5. Nautical.
a. of or pertaining to a mainmast.
b. noting or pertaining to a sail, yard, boom, etc., or to any rigging belonging to a mainmast.
c. noting any stay running aft and upward to the head of a mainmast: main topmast stay.
6. Obsolete.
a. having or exerting great strength or force; mighty.
b. having momentous or important results; significant.
–noun
7. a principal pipe or duct in a system used to distribute water, gas, etc.
8. physical strength, power, or force: to struggle with might and main.
9. the chief or principal part or point: The main of their investments was lost during the war.
10. Literary. the open ocean; high sea: the bounding main.
11. the mainland.
–adverb
12. South Midland U.S. (chiefly Appalachian). very; exceedingly: The dogs treed a main big coon.
–verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
13. Slang. mainline.
—Idiom
14. in the main, for the most part; chiefly: In the main, the novel was dull reading.
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME meyn, mayn strength, power, OE mægen, c. ON megin(n), megn strength; (adj.) ME mayn, partly < ON megenn, megn strong, partly independent use of OE mægen (n.) taken as an adj. in compounds, as in mægen-weorc, lit., work of might

Synonyms:
1. cardinal, prime, paramount, primary, capital. 2. pure, direct. 7. conduit. 8. might.

Antonyms:
1. secondary, least. 8. weakness.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

main  (adj.)
c.1205, "large, bulky, strong," from O.E. mægen- "power, strength, force," used in compounds (see main (n.)), probably infl. by O.N. megenn (adj.) "strong, powerful." Sense of "chief" is c.1400. In Spanish Main the word is short for mainland (1375) and refers to the coast between Panama and Orinoco. Main man "favorite male friend, hero" is from 1967, U.S. black slang.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

in the main

For the most part, chiefly, as in It was an excellent conference in the main. [First half of 1600s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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