mai n dra g N‑SING The main drag in a town or city is its main street. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ]
main|frame /me I nfre I m/ (mainframes ) N‑COUNT A mainframe or mainframe computer is a large powerful computer which can be used by many people at the same time and which can do very large or complicated tasks.
main|land /me I nlænd/ N‑SING [N n] You can refer to the largest part of a country or continent as the mainland when contrasting it with the islands around it. □ She was going to Nanaimo to catch the ferry to the mainland. □ …the islands that lie off the coast of mainland Britain.
main|line /me I nla I n/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] A mainline railway is a major railway between two important places. □ …the first mainline railway to be built in Britain for almost a hundred years. □ …London's mainline stations.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] You can use mainline to describe people, ideas, and activities that belong to the most central, conventional, and normal part of a tradition, institution, or business. □ We observe a striking shift away from a labor theory among all mainline economists.
main|ly ◆◆◇ /me I nli/
1 ADV [ADV with v] You use mainly when mentioning the main reason or thing involved in something. □ He did not want to take up a competitive sport, mainly because he did not have anyone to play with. □ The birds live mainly on nectar.
2 ADV You use mainly when you are referring to a group and stating something that is true of most of it. □ The African half of the audience was mainly from Senegal or Mali. □ The spacious main bedroom is mainly blue. SYNONYMS mainly ADV 1
chiefly: His response to attacks on his work was chiefly bewilderment.
mostly: I am working with mostly highly motivated people.
largely: The French empire had expanded largely through military conquest.
generally: As women we generally say and feel too much about these things.
primarily: Public order is primarily an urban problem.
mai n roa d (main roads ) N‑COUNT A main road is an important road that leads from one town or city to another. □ Webb turned off the main road and drove round to the car park.
main|spring /me I nspr I ŋ/ (mainsprings ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] If you say that an idea, emotion, or other factor is the mainspring of something, you mean that it is the most important reason or motive for that thing. [WRITTEN ] □ My life has been music, and a constant search for it has been the mainspring of my life. □ You begin to understand what actions were the mainspring of the story.
main|stay /me I nste I / (mainstays ) N‑COUNT If you describe something as the mainstay of a particular thing, you mean that it is the most basic part of it. □ Fish and rice were the mainstays of the country's diet. □ This principle of collective bargaining has been a mainstay in labor relations in this country.
main|stream /me I nstriːm/ (mainstreams ) N‑COUNT [usu sing] People, activities, or ideas that are part of the mainstream are regarded as the most typical, normal, and conventional because they belong to the same group or system as most others of their kind. □ …people outside the economic mainstream. □ The show wanted to attract a mainstream audience.
mai n|stream me |dia N‑SING [with sing or pl verb] The mainstream media refers to conventional newspapers, television and other news sources that most people know about and regard as reliable. □ We have seen how the mainstream media uniformly support the official government line on this. □ The story got little mainstream media coverage.
Mai n Stree t
1 N‑PROPER In small towns in the United States, the street where most of the shops are is often called Main Street .
2 N‑UNCOUNT Main Street is used by journalists to refer to the ordinary people of America who live in small towns rather than big cities or are not very rich. [AM ] □ This financial crisis had a much greater impact on Main Street.
main|tain ◆◆◇ /me I nte I n/ (maintains , maintaining , maintained )
1 VERB If you maintain something, you continue to have it, and do not let it stop or grow weaker. □ [V n] The Department maintains many close contacts with the chemical industry.
2 VERB If you say that someone maintains that something is true, you mean that they have stated their opinion strongly but not everyone agrees with them or believes them. □ [V that] He has maintained that the money was donated for international purposes. □ [V with quote] 'Not all feminism has to be like this,' Jo maintains. □ [V n] He had always maintained his innocence.
3 VERB If you maintain something at a particular rate or level, you keep it at that rate or level. □ [V n + at ] The government was right to maintain interest rates at a high level.
4 VERB If you maintain a road, building, vehicle, or machine, you keep it in good condition by regularly checking it and repairing it when necessary. □ [V n] The house costs a fortune to maintain. □ [V -ed] The cars are getting older and less well-maintained.
5 VERB If you maintain someone, you provide them with money and other things that they need. □ [V n] …the basic costs of maintaining a child. SYNONYMS maintain VERB
1
retain: The interior of the shop still retains a nineteenth-century atmosphere.
preserve: We will do everything to preserve peace.
sustain: The parameters within which life can be sustained on Earth are extraordinarily narrow.
keep up: There will be a major incentive among TV channels to keep standards up.