noun
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nautical the forestay that braces the mainmast
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a chief support
Etymology
Origin of mainstay
Explanation
A mainstay is something that acts as a source of support for a community. If your hometown's economy depends on tourists visiting every summer, you could say that tourism is the mainstay of your town. A mainstay holds everything together, whether it's your grandmother who acts as the anchor of your whole crazy family, a pillar that physically keeps a building from falling down, or the job that enables you to pay your rent every month. The noun mainstay is originally a nautical term meaning the rope that stabilizes two masts on a sailboat, and since the 1780s it's been used to mean "chief support."
Vocabulary lists containing mainstay
Beowulf
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This Week In Culture: October 5–11, 2019
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Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The planes have had their internal radar removed to balance the airframe, requiring pilots to rely on the Mainstay to reach their targets, British officials said.
From Washington Times • Mar. 9, 2023
Michael, 61-years-old, is part of the Democratic Mainstay group.
From BBC • Aug. 31, 2022
Mainstay is one mile down the road, she says.
From Salon • Aug. 27, 2022
Mainstay Provisions is a café/market on N.W. 65th Street with fresh pastries and pasta, frittatas and rotisserie chicken, along with 10 different soups, salads and sides.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 16, 2019
There was the Captain, Bob Mainstay, by name, and his first Lieutenant, Ben Backstay, a good sailor and true.
From The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer A Page of Past History for the Use of the Children of To-day by Clynton, Richard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
