main

The definition of a main is a primary line used for distributing water, gas and electricity.

(noun)

An example of a main is an underground pipe that brings water to a building.

Main is described as the most important or primary person or thing.

(adjective)

An example of main is a main character, such as Tom Sawyer being the primary character in the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

See main in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

physical strength; force; power: now only in , with all one's strength
Origin: < mainthe
the principal or most important part or point: usually in the phrase , mostly, chiefly
a principal pipe, conduit, or line in a distribution system for water, gas, electricity, etc.
Old Poet. the high, or open, sea; ocean
Archaic the mainland
Obsolete any broad expanse
Naut.
1. mainmast
2. mainsail

Origin: ME < OE mægen, akin to ON magn: see might

adjective

Obsolete strong; powerful
chief in size, extent, importance, etc.; principal; leading; specif., designating a large central unit on which subsidiaries or branches depend: the main post office
of, near, or connected with the mainmast or mainsail
Brit., Dialectal remarkable; considerable
Obsolete designating a broad expanse of land, sea, or space

Origin: ME mayn < OE mægen- (in comp.) & ON meginn, strong

river in SW Germany, flowing west into the Rhine at Mainz: 307 mi (494 km)

Origin: G < Gaul Moenus < IE *moin-, river name < base *mei-, to go, wander > L meare, to go

See main in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

Most important; principal. See Synonyms at chief.
Exerted to the utmost; sheer: by main strength.
Nautical Connected to or located near the mainmast: a main skysail.
Grammar Of, relating to, or being the principal clause or verb of a complex sentence.
Obsolete Of or relating to a continuous area or stretch, as of land or water.

noun

The chief or largest part: His ideas are, in the main, impractical.
The principal pipe or conduit in a system for conveying water, gas, oil, or other utility.
Physical strength: fought with might and main.
A mainland.
The open ocean.
Nautical
a. A mainsail.
b. A mainmast.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English

Origin: , from Old English mǽgen, strength; see magh- in Indo-European roots

A river rising in eastern Germany and flowing about 499 km (310 mi) generally westward to the Rhine River at Mainz.

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