maintop

American

[meyn-top] / ˈmeɪnˌtɒp /

noun

Nautical.

a platform at the head of the lower mainmast.

maintop British

/ ˈmeɪnˌtɒp /

noun

a top or platform at the head of the mainmast

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of maintop

First recorded in 1475–85; main ¹ + top ¹

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.

After a chase of five hours the nearest frigate fired her foremost guns at us, which cut away the maintop bowline.

From A Sailor of King George by Bevan, A. Beckford

Next day Rogers found them "in a very orderly pickle, with all their clothes drying, the ship and rigging covered with them from the deck to the maintop."

From Privateers and Privateering by Statham, E. P.

For reply, he made a swift motion towards the Sutherland's maintop shrouds, and almost instantly lanterns showed in them.

From Old Quebec The Fortress of New France by Bryan, Claude Glennon

The ship had all but passed them by before garbled shouts from its maintop finally sounded over the foggy waters.

From Caribbee by Hoover, Thomas

The green seas were higher than the maintop, their foaming, curling tops threatening to engulf the yacht every minute.

From The Cruise of the Snowbird A Story of Arctic Adventure by Stables, Gordon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023