Definition of mainstay
1 : a ship's stay extending from the maintop forward usually to the foot of the foremast
2 : a chief support
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Examples of mainstay in a Sentence
Fish is a mainstay of their diet.
My mother has always been the mainstay of our family.
Recent Examples of mainstay from the Web
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More from 'Dish': Longtime J. Harrod's employees buy Prospect mainstayTell Dana!
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And while SNL is an Emmys mainstay, newcomers had plenty of success Thursday morning when Veep star and current nominee Anna Chlumsky, actor Shemar Moore, and Television Academy Chairman and CEO Hayma Washington announced the accolades.
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Combined with the hit from Craigslist taking mainstay classified-ad business and newspaper print advertising was in trouble.
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Television show Keeping Up With The Kardashians first graced our screens in 2007, the Kardashian-Jenner family have become mainstays in American pop culture.
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Domaine LA Hollywood Shop: This Melrose Avenue mainstay offers 400 organic, biodynamic, and natural wines, mainly from Europe but also from the U.S., Australia, and Chile.
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Soler is under team control through the 2020 and could become a mainstay in the lineup across the next three seasons.
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Known for its quality of fit and construction, Bonobos has basically been beating beleaguered mall mainstays at their own game over the last few years, and has become a go-to resource for an ever-expanding number of menswear shoppers.
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Touching everyone in the audience is the mainstay of performances by The Breakfast Club.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mainstay.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
First Known Use of mainstay
15th century
MAINSTAY Defined for English Language Learners
mainstay
playDefinition of mainstay for English Language Learners
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: a very important part of something : something or someone that provides support and makes it possible for something to exist or succeed
MAINSTAY Defined for Kids
mainstay
playDefinition of mainstay for Students
1 : the large strong rope from the maintop of a ship usually to the foot of the foremast
2 : a chief support the mainstay of the family
Learn More about mainstay
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See words that rhyme with mainstay Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for mainstay Spanish Central: Translation of mainstay Nglish: Translation of mainstay for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of mainstay for Arabic speakers
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