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Main   /meɪn/   Listen
adjective
Main  adj.  
1.
Very or extremely strong. (Obs.) "That current with main fury ran."
2.
Vast; huge. (Obs.) "The main abyss."
3.
Unqualified; absolute; entire; sheer. (Obs.) "It's a man untruth."
4.
Principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc.; as, the main reason to go; the main proponent. "Our main interest is to be happy as we can."
5.
Important; necessary. (Obs.) "That which thou aright Believest so main to our success, I bring."
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."
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.
Synonyms: Principal; chief; leading; cardinal; capital.


noun
main  n.  
1.
A hand or match at dice.
2.
A stake played for at dice. (Obs.)
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."
5.
A main-hamper. (Obs.)


Main  n.  
1.
Strength; force; might; violent effort. (Obs., except in certain phrases.) "There were in this battle of most might and main." "He 'gan advance, With huge force, and with importable main."
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."
3.
Specifically:
(a)
The great sea, as distinguished from an arm, bay, etc.; the high sea; the ocean. "Struggling in the main."
(b)
The continent, as distinguished from an island; the mainland. "Invaded the main of Spain."
(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."


adverb
Main  adv.  Very; extremely; as, main heavy. "I'm main dry." (Obs. or Low)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Main" Quotes from Famous Books



... the first Englishman to make himself "redoubtable to the Spaniards" on the Spanish Main, was born near Tavistock about the year 1545. He was sent to sea, as a lad, aboard a Channel coaster engaged in trade with the eastern counties, France and Zeeland. When he was eighteen years of age he joined his cousin, John Hawkins, then a great and wealthy merchant, engaged in the slave ...
— On the Spanish Main - Or, Some English forays on the Isthmus of Darien. • John Masefield
... my coming be blessed!" she answered warmly. "Yet it can scarcely be a demon or any being of mortal mould that is spoiling the life happiness of my beloved brother and sovereign lord. After all, they are tolerably alike in the main point, and what semblance would the son of hell wear that dares to assail the most powerful and vigorous mind of all the ages, and yet is seized with panic terror at the glance of a feeble woman? Whoever knows the ...
— Uarda • Georg Ebers
... evincing, even at this period of her career, a commendable determination to resent dictation. George should have lived in the Middle Ages, when the spirit of modern American womanhood was as yet unborn. Once he contrived, by main force, to drag ...
— The Crossing • Winston Churchill
... They were successful beyond their expectations. The little town which they proposed to honor with a visit was not far from the water. A small grove and a hill shut it out from a view of the Sound. The main road ran down to a narrow inlet which served as a kind of harbor for fishing boats, oyster sloops and clammers. Handy's well-trained eye lighted on an eligible site for the tent. It was a nice level plot with a fence ...
— A Pirate of Parts • Richard Neville
... well with three hundred a year. But my habits are so d——reckless: I wish I was in the Serpentine. I wish I was dead, by Gad, I wish I was. I wish I had never touched those confounded bones. I had such a run of luck last night, with five for the main, and seven to five all night, until those ruffians wanted to pay me with Altamont's bill upon me. The luck turned from that minute. Never held the box again for three mains, and came away cleaned ...
— The History of Pendennis, Vol. 2 - His Fortunes and Misfortunes, His Friends and His Greatest Enemy • William Makepeace Thackeray


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