Synonyms

main course

American

noun

Nautical. a square mainsail.
the principal dish or course of a meal, typically including meat or fish.

main course British

noun

the principal dish of a meal
nautical a square mainsail

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

main courses

plural

Etymology

Origin of main course

First recorded in 1505–15

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.

See Examples For:

main course

While their extended family marked the holiday in wintry Minnesota, they sat down to Atlantic ocean views and a main course of Tofurky.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026

Nibble on an appetizer: The main course used to be the whole point of eating out at a restaurant.

From Slate ● Oct. 19, 2026

In any case, the ADP report is an appetizer of sorts ahead of the main course for markets: the official U.S. employment report on Friday.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

I enjoyed it all but the main course.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

Wild California pig was the main course, but which cut and how to prepare it?

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023