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main

- 12 dictionary results

main

1  [meyn]
Use 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.

main

2  [meyn]
–noun
a cockfighting match.
Origin:
1560–70; perh. special use of main 1 ; cf. main chance

Main

  [meyn; Ger. mahyn]
–noun
a river in central and W Germany, flowing W from the Bohemian Forest in N Bavaria into the Rhine at Mainz. 305 mi. (490 km) long.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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main   (mān)   
adj.  
  1. Most important; principal. See Synonyms at chief.
  2. Exerted to the utmost; sheer: by main strength.
  3. Nautical Connected to or located near the mainmast: a main skysail.
  4. Grammar Of, relating to, or being the principal clause or verb of a complex sentence.
  5. Obsolete Of or relating to a continuous area or stretch, as of land or water.
n.  
  1. The chief or largest part: His ideas are, in the main, impractical.
  2. The principal pipe or conduit in a system for conveying water, gas, oil, or other utility.
  3. Physical strength: fought with might and main.
  4. A mainland.
  5. The open ocean.
  6. Nautical
    1. A mainsail.
    2. A mainmast.

[Middle English, from Old English mægen, strength; see magh- in Indo-European roots.]
Main   (mān, mīn)   
A river rising in eastern Germany and flowing about 499 km (310 mi) generally westward to the Rhine River at Mainz.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Main

Main\, n. [F. main hand, L. manus. See Manual.]

1. A hand or match at dice. --Prior. Thackeray.

2. A stake played for at dice. [Obs.] --Shak.

3. The largest throw in a match at dice; a throw at dice within given limits, as in the game of hazard.

4. A match at cockfighting. "My lord would ride twenty miles . . . to see a main fought." --Thackeray.

5. A main-hamper. [Obs.] --Ainsworth.

Main

Main\, n. [AS. m[ae]gen strength, power, force; akin to OHG. magan, Icel. megin, and to E. may, v. ?. See May, v.]

1. Strength; force; might; violent effort. [Obs., except in certain phrases.]

There were in this battle of most might and main. --R. of Gl.

He 'gan advance, With huge force, and with importable main. --Spenser.

2. The chief or principal part; the main or most important thing. [Obs., except in special uses.]

Resolved to rest upon the title of Lancaster as the main, and to use the other two . . . but as supporters. --Bacon.

3. Specifically: (a) The great sea, as distinguished from an arm, bay, etc.; the high sea; the ocean. "Struggling in the main." --Dryden. (b) The continent, as distinguished from an island; the mainland. "Invaded the main of Spain." --Bacon. (c) principal duct or pipe, as distinguished from lesser ones; esp. (Engin.), a principal pipe leading to or from a reservoir; as, a fire main.

Forcing main, the delivery pipe of a pump.

For the main, or In the main, for the most part; in the greatest part.

With might and main, or With all one's might and main, with all one's strength; with violent effort.

With might and main they chased the murderous fox. --Dryden.

Main

Main\, a. [From Main strength, possibly influenced by OF. maine, magne, great, L. magnus. Cf. Magnate.]

1. Very or extremely strong. [Obs.]

That current with main fury ran. --Daniel.

2. Vast; huge. [Obs.] "The main abyss." --Milton.

3. Unqualified; absolute; entire; sheer. [Obs.] "It's a man untruth." --Sir W. Scott.

4. Principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc.

Our main interest is to be happy as we can. --Tillotson.

5. Important; necessary. [Obs.]

That which thou aright Believest so main to our success, I bring. --Milton.

By main force, by mere force or sheer force; by violent effort; as, to subdue insurrection by main force.

That Maine which by main force Warwick did win. --Shak.

By main strength, by sheer strength; as, to lift a heavy weight by main strength.

Main beam (Steam Engine), working beam.

Main boom (Naut.), the boom which extends the foot of the mainsail in a fore and aft vessel.

Main brace. (a) (Mech.) The brace which resists the chief strain. Cf. Counter brace. (b) (Naut.) The brace attached to the main yard.

Main center (Steam Engine), a shaft upon which a working beam or side lever swings.

Main chance. See under Chance.

Main couple (Arch.), the principal truss in a roof.

Main deck (Naut.), the deck next below the spar deck; the principal deck.

Main keel (Naut.), the principal or true keel of a vessel, as distinguished from the false keel.

Syn: Principal; chief; leading; cardinal; capital.

Main

Main\, adv. [See Main, a.] Very; extremely; as, main heavy. "I'm main dry." --Foote. [Obs. or Low]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : main
Spanish: principal,
German: Haupt-…,
Japanese: 主な
More Translations »

main  (n.)
O.E. mægen (n.) "power, strength, force," from P.Gmc. *maginam- "power," from *mag- "be able, have power" (see may). Original sense preserved in phrase with might and main. Meaning "principal channel in a utility system" is first recorded 1727 in main drain; Used since 1548 for "continuous stretch of land or water."

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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main

In addition to the idioms beginning with main, also see eye to the main chance; in the main; might and main.

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