main·stream
ˈmān-ˌstrēm 
: a prevailing current or direction of activity or influence
mainstream
adjective
main·stream
: having, reflecting, or being compatible with the prevailing attitudes and values of a society or group
mainstream media
movies that appeal to a mainstream audience
mainstream success
main·stream
ˈmān-ˈstrēm
mainstreamed; mainstreaming; mainstreams
1
: to place (a student, such as a disabled child) in regular school classes
2
: to incorporate in the mainstream
Examples of mainstream in a Sentence
Verb
The poor should be mainstreamed into the private health-insurance system.
Ideas that were once controversial have now become mainstreamed.
Recent Examples on the Web
Eli Thompson, Rolling Stone, 8 Nov. 2025
Community colleges alone enroll roughly 44% of all undergraduates, yet they are rarely featured in mainstream narratives.
—Yolanda Watson Spiva, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
The company is no slouch on the performance side of things, despite its bestselling models being mainstream cars and SUVs like the Camry and RAV4.
—Charles Singh, USA Today, 9 Nov. 2025
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2025
And Tucker Carlson has gained attention with his own programming distributed via social and digital media, Their audiences can be smaller and more disparate than the ones that come to mainstream news outlets, but in an era of cord-cutting, their niche power is not to be dismissed.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mainstream
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Noun
Would this rhetoric spread and become mainstream among many of my peers?
—Eli Thompson, Rolling Stone, 8 Nov. 2025
Community colleges alone enroll roughly 44% of all undergraduates, yet they are rarely featured in mainstream narratives.
—Yolanda Watson Spiva, Fortune, 8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
Someone who is unable to work in mainstream punditry because his face no longer fits, but is determined to raise standards among those who do as an outside agitator.
—Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
The company is no slouch on the performance side of things, despite its bestselling models being mainstream cars and SUVs like the Camry and RAV4.
—Charles Singh, USA Today, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
Those who do have access can now take their Sora creations and upload them to mainstream social media platforms, like Instagram and TikTok.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2025
And Tucker Carlson has gained attention with his own programming distributed via social and digital media, Their audiences can be smaller and more disparate than the ones that come to mainstream news outlets, but in an era of cord-cutting, their niche power is not to be dismissed.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mainstream
Cite this Entry
“Mainstream.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mainstream. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
mainstream
adjective
main·stream
ˌmān-ˌstrēm
: relating to or being tobacco smoke that is drawn (as from a cigarette) directly into the mouth of the smoker and is usually inhaled into the lungs compare sidestream
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