mainstream

American  

[meyn-streem] / ˈmeɪnˌstrim /

noun

1. the principal or dominant course, tendency, or trend.

   the mainstream of American culture.

2. a river having tributaries.

3. regular school classes or regular schools.

   keeping autistic students in the mainstream.

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adjective

1. belonging to or characteristic of a principal, dominant, or widely accepted group, movement, style, etc..

   mainstream Republicans;

   a mainstream artist;

   mainstream media.

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of jazz falling historically between Dixieland and modern jazz; specifically, swing music.

verb (used with object)

1. to send into the mainstream; cause to join the main force, group, etc..

   to mainstream young people into the labor force.

2. to place (students with disabilities) in regular school classes.

verb (used without object)

1. to join or be placed in the mainstream.

mainstream British  

/ ˈmeɪnˌstriːm /

noun

1. 1. the main current (of a river, cultural trend, etc)

      in the mainstream of modern literature

   2. ( as modifier )

      mainstream politics

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adjective

1. of or relating to the style of jazz that lies between the traditional and the modern

mainstream Cultural  

1. The prevailing current or direction of a movement or influence: “The candidate's speech represented the mainstream thinking on economic policy.”

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Etymology

Origin of mainstream

First recorded in 1660–70; main ¹ + stream

Example Sentences

"She's in a mainstream school, she can talk, she plays, she sits and balances, she goes horse riding, does everything that a typical five-year-old does. She just can't run around," said her mum.

From BBC

And this is before the next generation of AI models — more capable, multimodal and tightly integrated into enterprise workflows — enters the mainstream.

From MarketWatch

It nonetheless represents an exciting opportunity for companies like Nvidia, which are working to automate cars and factories while also turning humanoid robots mainstream.

From MarketWatch

So far, too much of the mainstream media has chosen the latter.

From Salon

“My biggest fear is that it further degrades mainstream confidence in medicine, and actually leads to a kind of Wild West for patients,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal