noun
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nautical the forestay that braces the mainmast
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a chief support
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mainstay
Explanation
A mainstay is something that acts as a source of support for a community. If your hometown's economy depends on tourists visiting every summer, you could say that tourism is the mainstay of your town. A mainstay holds everything together, whether it's your grandmother who acts as the anchor of your whole crazy family, a pillar that physically keeps a building from falling down, or the job that enables you to pay your rent every month. The noun mainstay is originally a nautical term meaning the rope that stabilizes two masts on a sailboat, and since the 1780s it's been used to mean "chief support."
Vocabulary lists containing mainstay
Beowulf
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This Week In Culture: October 5–11, 2019
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Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
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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.
Gallows humor, another military mainstay, plays a similar role, allowing service members to literally laugh at death.
From Slate • Jul. 10, 2026
Veteran Jessica Pegula, 32, the top-ranked American who also toiled away on the sport’s lower tier before becoming a top-10 mainstay, appreciates Liu’s resolve.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026
The operating margin in the company’s mainstay automotive division will meanwhile likely be within a range of 1%-3% for the year, a weaker estimate than the 4%-6% BMW had previously expected.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026
The election pits Fujimori, a mainstay of Peruvian politics, against Sánchez, who is promising broad economic reforms.
From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026
Owners no longer had the economic clout of being a mainstay of the economy.
From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson
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.
