What does MAIN mean?
Definitions for MAIN
meɪn, maɪnmain
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word MAIN.
Princeton's WordNet
main, brinynoun
any very large body of (salt) water
mainadjective
a principal pipe in a system that distributes water or gas or electricity or that collects sewage
chief(a), main(a), primary(a), principal(a), master(a)adjective
most important element
"the chief aim of living"; "the main doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary targets"; "the master bedroom"; "a master switch"
independent, main(a)adjective
(of a clause) capable of standing syntactically alone as a complete sentence
"the main (or independent) clause in a complex sentence has at least a subject and a verb"
main(a)adjective
of force; of the greatest possible intensity
"by main strength"
GCIDE
Mainadjective
Principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc.; as, the main reason to go; the main proponent.
Wiktionary
Mainnoun
A river in southern Germany, flowing from Bavaria to the Rhine.
Etymology: From mægen, later also taking senses from the adjective.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Mainadjective
Etymology: magne, old French; magnus, Latin.
In every grand or main publick duty which God requireth at the hands of his church, there is, besides that matter and form wherein the essence thereof consisteth, a certain outward fashion, whereby the same is in decent manner administered. Richard Hooker, b. iv.
There is a history in all mens lives,
Figuring the nature of the times deceased;
The which observ’d a man may prophesy,
With a near aim, of the main chance of things
As yet not come to life. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.He is superstitious grown of late,
Quite from the main opinion he had once
Of fantasy, of dreams, and ceremonies. William Shakespeare.There arose three notorious and main rebellions, which drew several armies out of England. John Davies, on Ireland.
The nether flood,
Which now divided into four main streams,
Runs diverse. John Milton, Par. Lost, b. iv.I should be much for open war, O peers,
If what was urg’d
Main reason to persuade immediate war,
Did not dissuade me most. John Milton, Par. Lost, b. ii.All creatures look to the main chance, that is, food and propagation. Roger L'Estrange, Fables.
Our main interest is to be as happy as we can, and as long as possible. John Tillotson, Sermons.
Nor tell me in a dying father’s tone,
Be careful still of the main chance, my son;
Put out the principal in trusty hands;
Live on the use, and never dip thy lands. John Dryden, Pers.Whilst they have busied themselves in various learning, they have been wanting in the one main thing. Thomas Baker.
Nor is it only in the main design, but they have followed him in every episode. Pope’s Pref. to the Iliad.
Think, you question with a Jew.
You may as well go stand upon the beach,
And bid the main flood bate his usual height. William Shakespeare.Seest thou what rage
Transports our adversary, whom no bounds,
Nor yet the main abyss,
Wide interrupt, can hold? John Milton, Par. Lost, b. iii.We ourself will follow
In the main battle, which on either side
Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse. William Shakespeare.All abreast
Charg’d our main battle’s front. William Shakespeare, Henry VI.This young prince, with a train of young noblemen and gentlemen, but not with any main army, came over to take possession of his new patrimony. John Davies, on Ireland.
That, which thou aright
Believ’st so main to our success, I bring. John Milton, Par. Lost.Mainnoun
The main of them may be reduced to language, and an improvement in wisdom, by seeing men. John Locke.
They allowed the liturgy and government of the church of England as to the main. Charles I .
These notions concerning coinage have, for the main, been put into writing above twelve months. John Locke.
A substitute shines brightly as a king,
Until a king be by; and then his state
Empties itself, as doth an inland brook
Into the main of waters. William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice.Where’s the king?
Bids the wind blow the earth into the sea;
Or swell the curled waters ’bove the main,
That things might change. William Shakespeare, King Lear.He fell, and struggling in the main,
Cry’d out for helping hands, but cry’d in vain. Dryden.Say, why should the collected main
Itself within itself contain?
Why to its caverns should it sometimes creep,
And with delighted silence sleep
On the lov’d bosom of its parent deep? Matthew Prior.He ’gan advance
With huge force, and insupportable main,
And towards him with dreadful fury prance. Fa. Qu.With might and main
He hasted to get up again. Hudibras, p. i.With might and main they chac’d the murd’rous fox,
With brazen trumpets, and inflated box. Dryden.Were it good,
To set the exact wealth of all our states
All at one cast; to set so rich a main
In the nice hazard of one doubtful hour. William Shakespeare.To pass our tedious hours away,
We throw a merry main. Earl Dorset’s Song.Writing is but just like dice,
And lucky mains make people wise:
That jumbled words, if fortune throw them,
Shall, well as John Dryden, form a poem. Matthew Prior.In 1589 we turned challengers, and invaded the main of Spain. Francis Bacon, War with Spain.
ChatGPT
main
Main refers to the primary or most important aspect or part of something. It signifies the central or principal focus, significance, or purpose of a subject or object. It can also indicate the dominant or prevailing idea, theme, or characteristic within a particular context.
Webster Dictionary
Mainnoun
a hand or match at dice
Mainnoun
a stake played for at dice
Mainnoun
the largest throw in a match at dice; a throw at dice within given limits, as in the game of hazard
Mainnoun
a match at cockfighting
Mainnoun
a main-hamper
Main
strength; force; might; violent effort
Main
the chief or principal part; the main or most important thing
Main
the great sea, as distinguished from an arm, bay, etc. ; the high sea; the ocean
Main
the continent, as distinguished from an island; the mainland
Main
principal duct or pipe, as distinguished from lesser ones; esp. (Engin.), a principal pipe leading to or from a reservoir; as, a fire main
Mainadjective
very or extremely strong
Mainadjective
vast; huge
Mainadjective
unqualified; absolute; entire; sheer
Mainadjective
principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc
Mainadjective
important; necessary
Mainadjective
very; extremely; as, main heavy
Etymology: [See Main, a.]
Wikidata
Main
The Main is a river in Germany, with a length of 527 km the most significant right tributary of the Rhine.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Main
mān, n. might: strength. [A.S. mægen.]
Main
mān, adj. chief, principal: first in importance: leading.—n. the chief or principal part: the ocean or main sea: a continent or a larger island as compared with a smaller: a principal gas or water pipe in a street, or the largest conductor in a system of electric lights.—ns. Main′boom, the spar which extends the foot of a fore-and-aft mainsail; Main′deck, the principal deck of a ship—so in Main′brace, the brace attached to the mainyard (see Splice); Main′land, the principal or larger land, as opposed to a smaller portion.—adv. Main′ly, chiefly, principally.—ns. Main′mast, the principal mast of a ship, second from the prow; Main′sail, the principal sail generally attached to the mainmast; Main′sheet, the sheet or rope attached to the lower corner of the mainsail; Main′spring, the spring which gives motion to any piece of machinery, esp. that of a watch or a clock; Main′stay, the rope which stretches forward from the top of the mainmast: chief support; Main′top, a platform on the top of the mainmast; Main′topmast, the mast next above the lower mainmast; Main′topsail, the sail above the mainsail, in square-rigged vessels; Main′yard, the lower yard on the mainmast. [O. Fr. maine or magne, great—L. magnus, great.]
Main
mān, n. a hand at dice: a match at cockfighting: a banker's shovel for coin. [O. Fr. main—L. manus, hand.]
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
main
A continent or mainland. Also, figuratively, the ocean.
Editors Contribution
main
A type of duct or system to convey a public utility or form of natural resources.
The water main was very efficient and provided an excellent service to its customers.
Submitted by MaryC on March 28, 2020
Suggested Resources
MAIN
What does MAIN stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the MAIN acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
MAIN
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Main is ranked #2824 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Main surname appeared 12,776 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 would have the surname Main.
91.9% or 11,746 total occurrences were White.
2.7% or 356 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
1.7% or 224 total occurrences were of two or more races.
1.5% or 195 total occurrences were Asian.
1.3% or 169 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
0.6% or 84 total occurrences were Black.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'MAIN' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #342
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'MAIN' in Written Corpus Frequency: #635
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'MAIN' in Adjectives Frequency: #32
Anagrams for MAIN »
iman
mani
mina
NAMI
Amin
mian
naim
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of MAIN in Chaldean Numerology is: 2
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of MAIN in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
Examples of MAIN in a Sentence
There are a lot of different ways you can find out somebody does n’t want to do the show anymore, and it’s not fun to work with someone who does n’t want to be there, [ especially when ] they’re one of the main people and you’ve got however many crewmembers and extras and people who are [ not paid as well ] and they’re all showing up before 7 a.m., and then are just like, ‘ Oh, OK, we’re not shooting today. ’.
We need jobs here. And the main reason I like him is he shoots from the hip. He doesn't have written speeches and all that kind of stuff, i'd also like to see Donald Trump bring one of those casinos to Jackson.
We are not experts on epidemiology, the spread of pandemics or anything like that, we talk to experts, and the main answer they give you is things are highly uncertain.
Poroshenko has not delivered that justice which Maidan was all about, and my main complaint to President Poroshenko is that he gave the hope that the country can be governed differently, and he buried that hope, unfortunately.
The Acanthamoeba organism is very resistant to drugs, which is the main reason some patients' treatments take such a long time.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for MAIN
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- رَئِيسِيّArabic
- anaAzerbaijani
- гало́ўныBelarusian
- principalCatalan, Valencian
- hlavníCzech
- vigtigsteDanish
- Hauptleitung, hauptsächlich, Haupt-German
- κυρίωςGreek
- ĉefaEsperanto
- principalSpanish
- pea-Estonian
- اصلیPersian
- pää-, pääasiallinen, iso, valta, pääjohtoFinnish
- principalFrench
- ard-phiobManx
- ראשיHebrew
- főHungarian
- terutama, paling pentingIndonesian
- principaleItalian
- עיקריHebrew
- 主, 主要Japanese
- მთავარიGeorgian
- បំពង់ធំ, ដើមKhmer
- 주요한Korean
- pelagusLatin
- matuaMāori
- utama, tinoMalay
- hoofdzakelijke, voornaamste, belangrijkst, belangrijkste, hoofdzakelijkDutch
- hoved-Norwegian
- głównyPolish
- principalPortuguese
- основной, главныйRussian
- hlavnýSlovak
- glávenSlovene
- allmän, huvud, huvudsaklig, generellSwedish
- ముఖ్యమైన, ప్రధానమైనTelugu
- anaTurkish
- مرکزیUrdu
- chủ yếu, chủ, chính, quan trọngVietnamese
- cifikVolapük
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Translation
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