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mainstream

[meyn-streem]

noun

the principal or dominant course, tendency, or trend: the mainstream of American culture.

a river having tributaries.

adjective

belonging to or characteristic of a principal, dominant, or widely accepted group, movement, style, etc.: mainstream Republicans; a mainstream artist.

of, pertaining to, or characteristic of jazz falling historically between Dixieland and modern jazz; specifically, swing music. Compare traditional (def. 4).

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Mainstream is one of our favorite verbs.

So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:

to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.

to flee; abscond:

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verb (used with object)

to send into the mainstream; cause to join the main force, group, etc.: to mainstream young people into the labor force.

to place (handicapped students) in regular school classes.

verb (used without object)

to join or be placed in the mainstream.

Origin:
1660–70; main¹ + stream

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To mainstream

Example Sentences

Rap is so stupid def, it's bum-rushin' the mainstream.

And over the past two years, the discussion about three-year programs has reached the mainstream press.

Mainstream macro has dozens of conflicting theories, all with their empirical evidence to support them.

EXPAND

Rap is so stupid def, it's bum-rushin' the mainstream.

And over the past two years, the discussion about three-year programs has reached the mainstream press.

Mainstream macro has dozens of conflicting theories, all with their empirical evidence to support them.

The tsunami unleashed one month ago received saturation coverage in the mainstream media, of course.

The trend is finding acceptance in mainstream medicine and helping people with cancer lead healthier lives.

Cats and failures highlight this list of the memes that have gone mainstream.

But going mainstream doesn't mean that the ethnic magic and good value are selling out.

There's no mainstream demand for music subscriptions.

Until now mainstream game makers have cast players as buyers, not sellers.

Stiglitz's is right about the failure of mainstream econ, but wrong on the causes of depression and the solution.

Wei's blunt comments, published two years ago in a mainstream political journal, offered a rare critique of a government program.

Intelligent, imaginative and wise people chose to write in favor of mainstream ideas and practices.

Iran is a poor country, and it's a country that's marginalized from the international mainstream.

If solar powered apparel is to make it into the mainstream, then it needs to be pushed by a mainstream brand.

They got away from offending mainstream sensibilities.

Remember, in mainstream econ crises are random events.

Vegetables available in local grocery stores are usually chosen for their shelf stability and mainstream appeal.

In mainstream schizophrenia certain half-truths are perpetuated.

Yet one go-go hit didn't pave the way for a mainstream breakout for the genre.

Gannett's move could bring these issues into the mainstream.

However, mainstream politicians do not know how to see them off.

China wants to settle such people and make them part of the national mainstream.

Other resources are not yet viable enough to be used mainstream.

The river is probably the only mainstream close to his heart.

Blogging is often depicted as a reaction to failures of mainstream media.

The hope behind the app is that the idea of finding out about a product's background will become mainstream.

Three recent developments have brought them back into the mainstream.

Some of the innuendo had appeared in coverage by the mainstream media.

Gay characters in mainstream comics have been around longer than much of the mainstream world could possibly imagine.

But mainstream econ has no idea what causes depressions.

To be honest, it sounds a bit disappointing and depressingly mainstream.

If you judge mainstream popularity by the frequency of awards shows, the gaming industry is moving up.

Yet all are deplorably lower than those of mainstream society.

Information visualisation is about to go mainstream.

But they have never been in the country's economic or political mainstream.

Alternative-energy technologies are starting to become mainstream.

The skepticism and contempt would have to be for mainstream macro economics.

Mainstream battery cars should follow in a year or two.

Mainstream economists thought the regulations were sufficient to reduce risk to the lowest level.

More people need to be tempted out of mainstream finance.

Mercifully, no mainstream politician espouses a return to outright protectionism.

Acupuncture, long shunned by mainstream medicine, is slowly gaining ground in doctors' offices around the country.

Some plan to go straight into a mainstream workplace, while others say they are easing the transition with graduate school.

And at the moment, the only politicians who are unquestionably thriving are those outside the mainstream already.

But their theories have never been accepted by the mainstream industry.

Another problem is that higher education has dropped off the rador of the mainstream news organizations.

Even if that is an overestimate, the limitations of the mainstream media are enough to drive politics online.

All of a sudden mountain climbing has become mainstream.

Recently, the doubts and questions plaguing the theory of evolutionary psychology have boiled up to the mainstream press.

But compressed air storage of one type or another is on the verge of becoming a mainstream power technology.

Many mainstream manufacturers are reformulating their products to meet kosher requirements.

I'll tell you why mainstream publishers and editors have not been helpful.

It simply wasn't a question that was taken seriously by the mainstream.

However, economic growth still remains sacrosanct to mainstream economists.

The situation is even more grim when it comes to less mainstream files.

It's something that could never happen in mainstream media".

Extreme ski touring has recently hit the mainstream thanks to the efforts of some intrepid entrepreneurs.

We need to see that alternative medicine is now mainstream.

In fact, the mainstream gay-rights movement was seeking simple equality: the right to be treated the same as everyone else.

That's a better record than what mainstream econ suffers from, or anyone else.

From activities both mainstream and on the fringes, there were absolute highs and lows from all corners of.

Experts say that moving solar energy from niche to mainstream is unlikely without big breakthroughs.

The published results become almost indistinguishable from mainstream best-seller tallies.

For bands shunned by many mainstream radio stations, these covers got people's attention.

The new work is the latest in a long line of attempts to bring artificial muscles into the mainstream.

It's not even an alternative critics'-darling movie, it's solid mainstream fare that is a genuine popular.

More and more, the dichotomy between mainstream media and digital media is a false one.

Moreover, my period of interest is pretty tangential to the movements in mainstream history.

To go mainstream will require adapting to a more open and perhaps more impersonal environment.

Blacks don't trust cops because of it, hardly anyone not mainstream does.

The comedy series took the emerging machinima medium mainstream.

The early-music movement has made it into the mainstream with respect, and several concerts are planned for this spring.

The topics that knittedscraff listed aren't really what you'll encounter in mainstream accounting research.

So mainstream made the mistake of developing theory around existing data because that was all they had.

It's too bad it gets accepted mainstream without much debate anymore.

But the notions aren't completely out of the military-industrial mainstream.

If a recent survey of college students paints an accurate picture, e-books have a long way to go before becoming mainstream.

But in the past few years mainstream politicians, retired military leaders and.

Actually it was in the culture long before it got into the mainstream of the culture.

Some are fans who want to see the industry go even more mainstream.

But the political mainstream will remain firmly on secular.

There is little doubt that electronic books have gone mainstream.

Clearly, they have something that mainstream medicine does not.

It is sad to see you don't care for mainstream computer users considering how many of us there are.

Observers worry even the sickest perversions may become more mainstream as a result.

European mainstream politicians need to swallow their pride and listen to the voice of the people to stop the growth of extremism.

Once labeled, both movements quickly surrendered their visual archetypes to the cultural mainstream.

They are now considered to be firmly within the party's mainstream.

On top of instant prejudices, outsiders must overcome more difficult, insidious obstacles to achieve mainstream success.

Electric cars from other mainstream manufacturers are not far behind.

And that's the thing about weather seeding: the split between mainstream scientists and the people who are doing it.

But it has inspired a raucous discussion in the blogosphere which has spilled over to mainstream media.

Many smart observers have complained of less-than-stellar coverage by mainstream outlets.

For some in the mainstream press, the sour feelings are mutual.

It was not the first digital-music player, but it was simple and elegant, and carried digital music into the mainstream.

Very often it takes a shocking event to move them into the mainstream.

Armenia has long been out of the mainstream of world news.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

mainstream (ˈmeɪnˌstriːm)

—n
1.	a. the main current (of a river, cultural trend, etc): in the mainstream of modern literature
	b. (as modifier): mainstream politics

—*adj*
2.	of or relating to the style of jazz that lies between the traditional and the modern

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

mainstream

"principal current of a river," 1667, from main (adj.) + stream, hence, "prevailing direction in opinion, popular taste, etc.," a fig. use first attested in Carlyle (1831).

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

mainstream definition

The prevailing current or direction of a movement or influence: “The candidate's speech represented the mainstream thinking on economic policy.”

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"The failures of the press have contributed immensely to the emergence of a talk-show nation, in which public discourse is reduced to ranting and raving and posturing. We now have a mainstream press whose news agenda is increasingly influenced by this netherworld."

-Carl Bernstein

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