main

Meaning

Adj

1. Of chief or leading importance; prime, principal.
2. Chief, most important, or principal in extent, size, or strength; consisting of the largest part.
3. Full, sheer, undivided.
4. Big; angry.
5. Belonging to or connected with the principal mast in a vessel.
6. (obsolete) Great in size or degree; important, powerful, strong, vast.

Adv

Exceedingly, extremely, greatly, mightily, very, very much.

Verb

1. (slang) Short for mainline (“to inject (a drug) directly into a vein”).
2. To mainly play a specific character or side, or with specific equipment, during a game.
3. (obsolete) To convert (a road) into a main or primary road.

Noun

1. That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross.
2. That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross.
3. A large cable or pipe providing utility service to an area or a building, such as a water main or electric main.
4. (informal) Short for main course (“the principal dish of a meal”).
5. The high seas.
6. The mainland.
7. Short for mainsail.
8. (obsolete) Force, power, strength, violent effort.

Noun

1. (obsolete) A hand or match in a game of dice.
2. (obsolete) The largest throw in a match at dice; in the game of hazard, a number from one to nine called out by a person before the dice are thrown.
3. (obsolete) A stake played for at dice.
4. (obsolete) A sporting contest or match, especially a cockfighting match.
5. A banker's shovel for coins.

Noun

A basket for gathering grapes.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/meɪn/

Etymology

From Middle English mayn, main, maine, mæin, meyn, from main (noun) (see further at etymology 2); compare Old English mægen- (“strong, main, principal”) (used in combination) and Old Norse megn, megenn (“strong, main”).
The word is cognate with Old High German megīn (“strong, mighty”) (modern German Möge, Vermögen (“power, wealth”)), and also akin to Old English magan (“to be able to”). See also may.

Sentences

Her main areas of research are .

Why else would he tell his main rival to prepare for a run ?

These two main fairs are the Bank Holidays of rural life .

It features most of the main cast collectively playing musical instruments as a band .

The main religious annual celebrations are in September , after Michael Archangel .

This is the main reason why pesto recipes often differ from each other .

Active voice is used in a clause whose subject expresses the main verb's agent .

The main point of interest is the Romanesque abbey church of " San Michele Arcangelo".