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• main street
  main street

  noun

  the principal thoroughfare, especially through the business district, in a small town.
• Main Street
  Main Street

  noun

  a novel (1920) by Sinclair Lewis.

main street

¹ American  

noun

1. the principal thoroughfare, especially through the business district, in a small town.

2. (initial capital letters) the outlook, environment, or life of a small town.

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Main Street ² American  

noun

1. a novel (1920) by Sinclair Lewis.

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Main Street British  

noun

1. the most prominent street of a town, usually where the principal shops and businesses are situated

2. ordinary people in general

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Etymology

Origin of main street

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

Main street is a mix of vacant storefronts and a shuttered barbershop, secondhand stores and a Budget Fuel gas station.

From The Guardian • Jun. 9, 2018

On Main street, one spring afternoon, I met up with Megan Bautista, a co-liaison in Oberlin’s student government.

From The New Yorker • May 23, 2016

Courier’s office is an old store front on Beattyville’s Main street.

From The Guardian • Nov. 12, 2015

Next to the door facing Main street you will see the familiar triangular fallout symbol tacked on the face of the building.

From Washington Times • Mar. 1, 2015

The first name mentioned in each case is that of the owner, the other, that of the occupants:— Main street, south side, from Acadia street to Portland Street.—Mr.

From The Story of the Great Fire in St. John, N.B., June 20th, 1877 by Stewart, George