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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

• main streets
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• main streets
  plural

Etymology

Origin of main street

First recorded in 1735–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

main street Main Street

At 22:09, Lavryovych sent a voice message on Telegram: "We'll meet on the main street basically."

From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026

At their home, a large one-story villa off a dirt road leading to the town’s main street, Scott introduces me to a lifestyle designed to promote wellness.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

In this suburb of Atlanta, more than a thousand people marched down its main street, Ponce de Leon Avenue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026

The mural would be Bolding’s first public piece of art on a main street.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2026

“Mush on, poor sore feets,” the driver encouraged them as they tottered down the main street of Skaguay.

From "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London

On a drizzly morning in June, all was still on Tuskegee's South Main Street, a two-lane road that runs into the heart of the town square, where a towering Confederate monument loomed over the emptiness.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

But Main Street might be turning to Netflix’s rivals.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

Located above the Main Street Bakery, the window is a lasting tribute to a family who made some of the park’s magic possible.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

The policy is similar to that of Disneyland, where visitors must pass through security to access Main Street, U.S.A., before the entrance to the theme park and California Adventure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

In my mind it was still her fence, even though she didn’t live here anymore: she had been moved to a hospice facility near Main Street.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover