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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

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Etymology

Origin of main street

First recorded in 1735–45

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

main street Main Street

"International politics is very difficult," Comerford told AFP outside his pub on Doonbeg's main street.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Carmel has become a jewel box of a town, with a main street, Ocean Avenue, that runs right down to the beach and sea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

There is a bustle about the main street and sitting with a coffee by the banks of the River Fleet feels like a good place to leave your worries behind you.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 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

The main street was wide—with sun-bleached cars and pickups parked at an angle to the curb—but only a few blocks long, flanked on both sides with low, flat-roofed buildings made of adobe or brick.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

There’s a saying on Main Street that recent stock-price action suggests investors on Wall Street are starting to believe — you get what you pay for.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

I have not met a man while walking down Main Street, although I remain open to the possibility.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

According to our analysis, of $31 trillion in total private business equity in the U.S., nearly half is in tactile, Main Street industries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

A 48-year-old man died in Main Street in Linlithgow.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Cars zoom by on Main Street, and two birds chirp to each other from different branches of the same tall tree.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

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