Meaning of main in English

main

adjective [ before noun ]

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/meɪn/ us

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/meɪn/

larger, more important, or having more influence than others of the same type:

The main thing is not to worry.

One of the main reasons I came to England was to study the language.

You'll find the main points of my proposal in the report.

Our main aim/objective is to improve the company's productivity.

The main problem is a lack of resources.

My main concern about moving to San Fransisco is the cost of housing.

More examples

They dropped me off at the main entrance.
Press Esc to return to the main menu.
You'll be examined in three main areas; speaking, listening and reading comprehension.
The main crops grown for export are coffee and rice.
The opportunity to travel is one of the main attractions of this job.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Very important or urgent

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Idiom

be sb's main squeeze

main

noun

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/meɪn/ us

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/meɪn/

main noun (PIPE)

[ C ]

a large pipe that carries water or gas, or a wire carrying electricity, from one place to another, to which a house can be connected:

a gas main

The severe cold caused a water main to burst and flood the street.

mains [ plural ] UK

the system of pipes or wires that carry water or electricity into a house, or the pipes that carry sewage away from a house:

The house isn't on the mains.

They bought a house with no mains supply.

mains electricity

the mains UK

the place at which outside pipes or wires carrying water, electricity, etc. connect with the system inside a house or building:

Switch off the electricity at the mains before starting work.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Building: plumbing, pipes & sewage

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Electrical components & circuitry

main noun (MOSTLY)

in the main

generally or mostly:

Her friends are teachers in the main.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Importance - general words

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(Definition of main from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

main | American Dictionary

main

adjective [ not gradable ]

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/meɪn/

main adjective [not gradable] (MOST IMPORTANT)

most important or larger:

The main thing is to keep calm and don’t get angry.

The main social event of the summer was a dance and reception.

main

noun [ C ]

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/meɪn/

main noun [C] (PIPE)

a large pipe that is part of the system carrying water or gas from one place to another:

A water main burst and flooded the street.

(Definition of main from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

main | Business English

main

adjective

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/meɪn/ us

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biggest or most important:

The report identified three main areas for improvement.

Please go to the reception desk at the main entrance.

British Airways, the company's main rival, had also seen an improvement .

the main problem/reason/objective

(Definition of main from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of main

main

Now we are able to prove the main result of this section.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The following is the main result of this article.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

More examples Fewer examples

The main result of this section will be as follows.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The main result of this section is the following proposition.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The main points of the paper can be made within this simpler structure.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We proceed with the proof of the main result.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

One of the main difficulties is the very long relaxation time.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, price and negative attitudes were the main deterrents for non-organic consumers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We are of the opinion that this is just the main thermodynamic difference between the "cold" ablation and the organic material ablation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The main category is called organic and inorganic dust.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Her main research interest lies in the philosophical analysis of bioethical concepts.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I will begin by outlining the concept of self-ownership, and go on to explain the two main objections to the concept: one philosophical, one ideological.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

This phonetic aspect is the main important difference between the two cases for other reasons as well.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The state of the art and the main results in the evaluation of these systems are reported.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

As a main success factor, all of the farmers reported the intensity of relations between the self-harvesters and the farmers.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of main

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Translations of main

in Chinese (Traditional)

主要的, 最重要的, 最大的…

Meaning of main in English

Idiom

main noun (PIPE)

main noun (MOSTLY)

main | American Dictionary

main adjective [not gradable] (MOST IMPORTANT)

main noun [C] (PIPE)

main | Business English

Examples of main

Translations of main

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