noun
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nautical the forestay that braces the mainmast
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a chief support
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.
The Republic of Ireland mainstay has made 330 league appearances across two spells at Molineux but just 10 of them have come this season.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
It began in the 1930s as a booster for the local farms that were once a mainstay of the area and are now mostly gone.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
The 2027 and 2028 Oscars will also be the last two ceremonies held at the Dolby Theatre after more than a quarter century at the Hollywood mainstay.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026
Meanwhile, the casualties of war include mainstay growth stock funds.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Millions of acres of forests were sprayed instead of thou sands as before, in an effort to save the balsams, which are the mainstay of the pulp and paper industry.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
