main

1. (British, dialectal) Exceedingly, extremely, greatly, mightily, very, very much.Examples: "Suck[y]. A Draught of Ale, Friend, for I'm main dry. / Pen[elope]. Fie! fie! Niece! Is that Liquor for a young Lady? Don't disparage your Family and Breeding!"; "Why, it's main jolly to be sure, and all that so fair."; "It was main hot, and the windy was open, and I hear that old song comin’ out as clear as clear […]"Britishdialectal

1. (transitive, slang) Ellipsis of mainline (“to inject (a drug) directly into a vein”).abbreviationalt-ofellipsisslangtransitive

2. (transitive, gaming) To mainly play a specific character or side, or with specific equipment, during a game.Examples: "He mains the same character as me in that game."; "What race do you main and what is your favourite race to beat?"; "For new players, I recommend maining the dagger and using the axe as a backup weapon."transitive

3. (obsolete) To convert (a road) into a main or primary road.Examples: "When a rural district council considers that a highway in its district ought to become a main road by reason of its being a medium of communication between great towns, or a thoroughfare to a railway station, or otherwise, it may apply to the county council for an order "maining" the road under s. 15 of the Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act, 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c. 77), as amended by s. 3 (viii.) of the Local Government Act, 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41), and the county council may make an order accordingly."; "The borough did not have an opportunity of conferring with the County Council, but the County Council requested particulars of district roads in the borough which the Council suggested should be mained."obsolete

1. (not in generic modern use) That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross.Examples: "Antiochus […] thought it a proper time for him to attempt the recovery of Syria; and Hermias his prime Miniſter preſſed hard for his going in perſon to this war, contrary to the Opinion of Epigenes his General; who thought it chiefly concerned him to ſuppreſs the Rebellion of Alexander and Molon in the East; and therefore adviſed him to march immediately in perſon with the main of his Army for the ſubduing of thoſe Rebels, before they ſhould gather greater ſtrength in the revolted Provinces againſt him."; "But the King [Henry VII of England], […] preferring his affection to his own line and blood, […] resolved to rest upon the title of Lancaster as the main, and to use the other two, that of marriage, and that of battle, but as supporters, the one to appease secret discontents, and the other to beat down open murmur and dispute; […]"

2. (not in generic modern use) That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross.Examples: "My WoW main has reached level cap and I’m on my way getting my first alt there as well."Antonyms: alt

3. (not in generic modern use) That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross.Examples: "His main got banned after his last post."Antonyms: altInternet

4. (informal) Ellipsis of main course (“the principal dish of a meal”).Examples: "I had scampi and chips for my main and a slice of cheesecake for dessert."abbreviationalt-ofellipsisinformal

5. (now poetic) The high seas.Examples: "Who ſhall him rew, that ſwimming in the maine, / Will die for thriſt, and water doth refuſe? / Refuſe ſuch fruitleſſe toile, and preſent pleaſures chuſe."; "The God, inſulting with ſuperiour Strength, / Fell heavy on him, plung'd him in the Sea, / And, with the Stern, the Rudder tore away, / Headlong he fell, and, ſtrugling in the Main, / Cry'd out for helping hands, but cry'd in vain: […]"; "Wanton god of am'rous fires, / Wishes, sighs and soft desires, / All nature's sons thy laws maintain; / O'er liquid air, firm land, and swelling main, / Extend thy uncontroul'd and boundless reign."poetic

6. (now archaic, US dialectal) The mainland.Examples: "In the year that followed of 1589, we gave the Spaniards no breath, but turned challengers, invaded the main of Spain. In which enterprize, although we failed of our end, which was to ſettle Don Antonio in the kingdom of Portugal, yet a man ſhall hardly meet with an action that doth better reveal the great ſecret of the power of Spain: […]"; "No man is an Iland, intire of it ſelfe; euery man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; […]"; "The higheſt land on the mayne, yet it was but low, we called Keales hill, and theſe vninhabited Iſles, Ruſſels Iſles."USarchaicdialectal

1. (obsolete, gaming) A hand or match in a game of dice.Examples: "That writing is but juſt like dice, / And lucky mains make people wiſe: / That jumbled words, if fortune throw 'em, / Shall, well as Dryden, form a poem; […]"; "1876, Charles Dickens, All the Year Round That no minute might be wasted, the gay gallants of the time generally had a dice-box and a cast of dice in their pockets. This was convenient in the extreme, as, in the intervals of racing, a main could be thrown […]"; "Well-for the rest, will you throw a main?"obsolete

2. (obsolete, gaming) The largest throw in a match at dice; in the game of hazard, a number from one to nine called out by a person before the dice are thrown.Examples: "Euery man hath not beene brought vp in the knowledge of toungs. And it chanceth often to the reader, as it doth to diceplayers, that gaine more by the bye then by the maine."; "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 cleared out, leaving that infernal cheque behind me."obsolete

3. (obsolete, gaming) A stake played for at dice.Examples: "[W]ere it good / To ſet the exact wealth of al our ſtates / Al at one caſt? to ſet ſo rich a maine / On the nice hazard of one doubtfull houre?"obsolete

4. (obsolete, gaming, sports) A sporting contest or match, especially a cockfighting match.Examples: "My lord was hunting all day when the ſeaſon admitted; he frequented all the cockfights and fairs in the country, and would ride twenty miles to ſee a main fought, or two clowns break their heads at a cudgelling match; […]"obsolete

1. (obsolete, rare) A basket for gathering grapes.Examples: "A main [hamper] Corbis vindemiatorius"obsoleterare