| Noun | 1. | main - any very large body of (salt) waterbody of water, water - the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean); "they invaded our territorial waters"; "they were sitting by the water's edge" hydrosphere - the watery layer of the earth's surface; includes water vapor offing - the part of the sea that can be seen from the shore and is beyond the anchoring area; "there was a ship in the offing" territorial waters - the waters surrounding a nation and its territories over which that nation exercises sovereign jurisdiction | |
| 2. | main - a principal pipe in a system that distributes water or gas or electricity or that collects sewageinfrastructure, base - the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; "the industrial base of Japan" pipage, pipe, piping - a long tube made of metal or plastic that is used to carry water or oil or gas etc. water main - main (a pipe or conduit) for conveying water | |
| Adj. | 1. | main - most important element; "the chief aim of living"; "the main doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary targets"important, of import - of great significance or value; "important people"; "the important questions of the day" | |
| 2. | main - of a clause; able to stand alone syntactically as a complete sentence; "the main (or independent) clause in a complex sentence has at least a subject and a verb"grammar - studies of the formation of basic linguistic units dependent, subordinate - of a clause; unable to stand alone syntactically as a complete sentence; "a subordinate (or dependent) clause functions as a noun or adjective or adverb within a sentence" | |
| 3. | main - of force; of the greatest possible intensity; "by main strength"intense - in an extreme degree; "intense heat"; "intense anxiety"; "intense desire"; "intense emotion"; "the skunk's intense acrid odor"; "intense pain"; "enemy fire was intense" | |