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I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A principal pipe in a system that distributes water or gas or electricity or that collects sewage
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("main" is a kind of...):
pipage; pipe; piping (a long tube made of metal or plastic that is used to carry water or oil or gas etc.)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "main"):
electric main (a main that distributes electricity)
gas main (a main that distributes gas)
sewer line; sewer main (a main in a sewage system)
water main (main (a pipe or conduit) for conveying water)
Holonyms ("main" is a part of...):
base; infrastructure (the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Any very large body of (salt) water
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("main" is a kind of...):
body of water; water (the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean))
Meronyms (parts of "main"):
high sea; international waters (the open seas of the world outside the territorial waters of any nation)
offing (the part of the sea that can be seen from the shore and is beyond the anchoring area)
territorial waters (the waters surrounding a nation and its territories over which that nation exercises sovereign jurisdiction)
Holonyms ("main" is a part of...):
hydrosphere (the watery layer of the earth's surface; includes water vapor)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(of a clause) capable of standing syntactically alone as a complete sentence
Example:
the main (or independent) clause in a complex sentence has at least a subject and a verb
Synonyms:
independent; main
Classified under:
Domain category:
grammar (the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics))
Sense 2
Meaning:
Most important element
Example:
a master switch
Synonyms:
chief; main; master; primary; principal
Classified under:
Similar:
important; of import (of great significance or value)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Of force; of the greatest possible intensity
Example:
by main strength
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
intense (possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree)
Context examples:
A main metabolite of the selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen with anti-estrogen activity.
(N-Desmethyltamoxifen, NCI Thesaurus)
After they had travelled three miles they unloaded the sled, came back for her, and by main strength put her on the sled again.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
The main information-processing organs of the nervous system, consisting of the brain, spinal cord, and meninges.
(Murine Central Nervous System, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
A type of cancer that begins in cells that line certain internal organs and produce mucin (the main component of mucus).
(Mucinous Adenocarcinoma, NCI Dictionary)
Drylands are the main sources of Earth's atmospheric dust.
(Sleeping sands of the Kalahari awaken after more than 10,000 years, NSF)
Containing or resembling mucin, the main compound in mucus.
(Mucinous, NCI Dictionary)
Their tally was exact with the list, and they had nothing to add except that the boxes were "main and mortal heavy," and that shifting them was dry work.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
The questionnaire contains 23 items (and a number of sub-items within the 23 main items) with a range of preset answers that are assigned points based on performance.
(Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study Activities of Daily Living Inventory Questionnaire, NCI Thesaurus)
Either way, the situation seems to involve money as the main topic or in parallel to a discussion and meditation about your steady sweetheart, one of your children, or a pregnancy.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
The main conclusion is that, if phosphine is detected in a nearby, rocky planet, that planet must be harboring life of some kind.
(Poisonous Earthly Molecule May Be Sign of Extraterrestrial Life, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
