main course
Americannoun
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main courses
plural
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Nautical. a square mainsail.
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the principal dish or course of a meal, typically including meat or fish.
noun
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the principal dish of a meal
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nautical a square mainsail
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
ADP is an appetizer of sorts ahead of the main course for markets: the official U.S. employment report on Friday.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
The first sheet becomes the main course: four crisp, savory egg tarts with pancetta, pecorino and enough black pepper to evoke cacio e pepe.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Williams, whose main course options include Porth Eirias dressed crab and Welsh lamb, said he would never exile the scone.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Her Swiss chard and okra stew makes a delicious main course served over polenta, while her coconut fish curry evokes the country’s long coast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
What delighted him— what he kept begging Park for—were stories about food and eating, particularly when the main course was grilled meat.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
