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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

Every day, she walks to the main street with her golden retriever, Riley, and enjoys Pilates, art and good food along the way.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

The main street of Queenborough is clogged with parked cars.

From BBC ● May 4, 2026

Its main street is lined with brick buildings, some more than 100 years old.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 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

We crossed it and the tracks, people coming to the doors to look at us and more boys materialising from somewhere until when we turned into the main street we had quite a procession.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

The charges against Flores stemmed from a June 8, 2025, protest in downtown L.A., where prosecutors said he “participated in a riot” on the Main Street overpass of the 101 Freeway.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Trading yield to chase those clients’ business is certainly a gamble for Main Street banks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

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

He then turned to Roberto and continued: “So you have experience at Main Street School...”

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez