mainstream

American  

[mayn-streem] / ˈmeɪnˌstrim /

noun

• mainstreams
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• mainstreams
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of mainstream

First recorded in 1660–70; main ¹ + stream

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Explanation

Mainstream describes what's viewed by most people in a society as "normal," like the mainstream view that everyone should get married, move to the suburbs, and have children as soon as they can. Something that's mainstream is conventional, or the usual way of doing things. If you're talking about the mainstream in fashion, you mean the ordinary clothes that most people wear and which is found in all the malls — nothing too weird or outlandish. In the 1600s, mainstream described the prevailing current of a river, with the first recorded use of its meaning of prevailing taste or opinion in 1831.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mainstream mainstreams

The group’s breakout 1985 single “I Wonder if I Take You Home” echoed in the dance clubs before crossing over into mainstream radio and landing the No. 34 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Safety is not the only barrier to bringing gene editing into mainstream healthcare.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

Door decorating is a thing on all mainstream cruise lines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

A fast-growing slang word among members of Generations Z and Alpha - both online and in everyday conversation - mogging went mainstream in 2026 with a 210% increase in its usage.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

They introduced dozens of different salad mixes to mainstream America.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

After campaigns ended, they typically folded into the parties’ mainstreams and became leaders in subsequent electoral cycles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Each had previous experience in political office, and all fell within the ideological mainstreams of their respective parties.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2017

Radio formats created, I’ll argue in this book, multiple mainstreams: distinct, if at times overlapping, cultural centers.

From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2014

It’s an old-fashioned element of bohemianism to act as envoys between margins and mainstreams.

From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2013

"Marriage, as it exists today, is antithetical to my liberation as a lesbian and as a woman, because it mainstreams my life and voice," she says.

From Time Magazine Archive

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