IN THE MAIN • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of In the main

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/ɪn ðə meɪn/ Listen

noun

Main n.

1.

Strength; force; might; violent effort. (Obs., except in certain phrases.) "There were in this battle of most might and main." "He 'gan advance, With huge force, and with importable main."

2.

The chief or principal part; the main or most important thing. (Obs., except in special uses.) "Resolved to rest upon the title of Lancaster as the main, and to use the other two... but as supporters."

3.

Specifically:

(a)

The great sea, as distinguished from an arm, bay, etc.; the high sea; the ocean. "Struggling in the main."

(b)

The continent, as distinguished from an island; the mainland. "Invaded the main of Spain."

(c)

Principal duct or pipe, as distinguished from lesser ones; esp. (Engin.), a principal pipe leading to or from a reservoir; as, a fire main.

Forcing main, the delivery pipe of a pump.

For the main, or In the main, for the most part; in the greatest part.

With might and main, or With all one's might and main, with all one's strength; with violent effort. "With might and main they chased the murderous fox."

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Etymology of 'In the main'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"In the main" Quotes from Famous Books

... set on Cumbria's hills supreme, And, Menai, on thy silver stream. The star of day had reached the West. Now in the main it sank to rest. Shone great Eleindyn's castle tall: Shone every battery, every hall: Shone all fair Mona's verdant plain; But chiefly shone ...

— Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay • George Otto Trevelyan

... to tax the whole people for the purpose of enriching a few was too monstrous to be openly made. The scheme was therefore veiled under the plausible but delusive pretext of a measure to protect "home industry," and many of our people were for a time led to believe that a tax which in the main fell upon labor was for the benefit of the laborer who paid it. This branch of the system involved a partnership between the Government and the favored classes, the former receiving the proceeds of the tax imposed ...

— State of the Union Addresses of James Polk • James Polk

... and was indignant when she heard how her step-father had treated Dainty, while she rejoiced that the girl had found such a refuge, for she believed that Miss White was in the main ...

— Dainty's Cruel Rivals - The Fatal Birthday • Mrs. Alex McVeigh Miller

... colonies, and by the mother country, England, were colossal, and the battles were great for the time. To the colonies, and to those in Canada as well, the campaigns were a matter of life or death. For the English colonies the war, despite valor and heroic endurance, had been going badly in the main, but now almost all felt that a change was coming, and it seemed to be due chiefly to one man, Pitt. It was Napoleon who said later that "Men are nothing, a man is everything," but America, as well ...

— The Sun Of Quebec - A Story of a Great Crisis • Joseph A. Altsheler

... patiently for the decision, and hoping that it might be favorable. Of course, it was wrong for him to tell a lie, but he thought his engagement depended upon it, and, although a very good boy in the main, he was not altogether perfect, as my readers are ...

— Only An Irish Boy - Andy Burke's Fortunes • Horatio Alger, Jr.

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