[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/main/)

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# main

adjective (main); noun (a main, mains)

«main» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Main means the most important or the biggest one, like the main road or the main idea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#m1)
2. A main is a large pipe or cable that carries water, gas or electricity to buildings. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#m2)
3. The mains is the electricity supply from the wall sockets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#m3)
4. In British English, a main or main course is the biggest part of a meal. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#m4)
5. Long ago, main could mean very or greatly, as in "I would main like to go." [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#m5)

### In the lessons

In reading and writing lessons, the main idea is what a text is mostly about, and the main character is the most important person in a story. In maths, the main question in a word problem is what you must find. In safety, mains electricity is strong enough to kill, so never poke things into sockets; a burst water main floods streets. Phrases: main idea, main character, main road, main course, mainly, the main thing, in the main.

### Examples

- What is the main idea of this paragraph? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#x1)
- Harry is the main character in the book. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#x2)
- Turn left onto the main road. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#x3)
- The main thing is that nobody got hurt. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#x4)
- For my main course I'll have fish. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#x5)
- A water main burst and flooded the street. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#x6)
- Never touch mains electricity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#x7)
- The main entrance is at the front of the school. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#x8)
- Yet its main incidents occur with frequency in Continental folk-tales. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/#x9)

### Note

As an adjective, main always goes before the noun: «the main door», never «the door is main». Adverb: mainly (mostly). Do not confuse with «mane», the long hair on a horse or lion (same sound). The Main is also a river in Germany.

## In Jewish tradition

In reading and writing lessons, the main idea is what a text is mostly about, and the main character is the most important person in a story. In maths, the main question in a word problem is what you must find. In safety, mains electricity is strong enough to kill, so never poke things into sockets; a burst water main floods streets. Phrases: main idea, main character, main road, main course, mainly, the main thing, in the main.

### Examples

- Moreover, if the y was originally a vowel only and had no sound of g, as main- tained by Jerome, it can have only one vowel sound. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/main/#x1)

### Note

As an adjective, main always goes before the noun: «the main door», never «the door is main». Adverb: mainly (mostly). Do not confuse with «mane», the long hair on a horse or lion (same sound). The Main is also a river in Germany.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «main» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/main/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«main» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/main.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «main» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/M/main/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«main» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/main.html) on Mova free.