as in primary
coming before all others in importance
this is the main point of the study—everything else is secondary
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in power
muscular strength
all their might and main could not budge the stalled car
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in continent
one of the great divisions of land on the globe or the main part of such a division
islanders periodically traveled back to the main for supplies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in core
the main or greater part of something as distinguished from its subordinate parts
the main of the tree is still healthy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of main
Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
The softside spinner features a spacious main compartment and multiple exterior pockets for easy in-flight access, plus an expandable frame that adds up to two extra inches of precious packing space.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2025
Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2025
When the water level dropped as a result, two village water mains and two sanitary force mains were uncovered.
—Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for main
Adjective
The first trailer for Netflix’s Bad Influencer introduces the two main characters, the bags, the money, the criminal company, and much more.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025
The softside spinner features a spacious main compartment and multiple exterior pockets for easy in-flight access, plus an expandable frame that adds up to two extra inches of precious packing space.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
The gas main catches fire and the house explodes, killing Mirren, Johnny and Gat.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2025
When the water level dropped as a result, two village water mains and two sanitary force mains were uncovered.
—Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for main
Recent Examples of Synonyms for main
Adjective
-
Despite being the team's primary backup now, there are still rumblings and rumors about Cleveland potentially trading Sanders before the upcoming trade deadline.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Oct. 2025
-
The primary goal is to trace how these medical ideas were communicated through language and how that language still influences public and clinical understandings of the body today.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Hanke relates that it was riddled with loopholes that handed the Banco Central de la República Argentina discretionary monetary powers.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
-
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.—
Megan O’Matz,
ProPublica,
8 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Swift’s blockbuster Eras Tour ran from March 2023 through December 2024, spanning 149 shows across five continents.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
12 Oct. 2025
-
The World Cup’s expansion from 24 to 32 teams for the 1998 tournament in France admitted more teams from other continents.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Startups are advertising ‘AI employees’ and the likes of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz are talking of AI ‘productizing and unbundling’ the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector that executes the core functions of corporations around the globe.—
Adam Gale,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Why This Refurbished Powerhouse Is Worth It The Surface Book 3 combines an elegant aluminum body with a 15-inch PixelSense touch screen, backed by a quad-core 10th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Aspen groves are not as predominant here and hikers will find a wider array of colors due to the range of deciduous tree varieties fed by additional moisture from springs and creeks.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The predominant narrative among many springs scientists, advocates and government officials is that rising nitrate levels in springs over the past few decades fuels the growth of excess algae.—
Christopher F. Meindl,
The Conversation,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
His muscles will be worn to the fiber, asked to consistently chase and brake and crowd some of the league’s best perimeter players.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
And this inflatable water mat makes tummy time a blast, while helping little ones develop better balance and stronger core muscles.—
Anja Webb,
Parents,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
It is situated in the busy Gulf of Finland, 14 nautical miles from the Estonian mainland and 29 miles south of the Finnish mainland.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Beijing's crackdown on TechInsights came less than a week after the firm revealed that a breakdown of Huawei's latest artificial intelligence chips found components sourced from outside mainland China.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
And for all the miles on his body, Ekblad is still just 29 years old and has more help than ever with Jones there to log big minutes and Forsling continuing to emerge as one of the league’s best shutdown D in a system that plays to his strengths.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Some old stories, like bodies in Wisconsin graves, really don’t need to be dug up.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
7 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Main.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/main. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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