main — OAT · Shobdo

main

adjective

1 the main office | the main issue:

principal, chief, head, leading, foremost, most important, major, ruling, dominant, central, focal, key, prime, master, premier, primary, first, high, grand, fundamental, supreme, predominant, (most) prominent, preeminent, paramount, overriding, cardinal, crucial, vital, critical, capital, pivotal, salient, elemental, essential, staple, intrinsic, urgent.

▷antonyms subsidiary, minor.

2 they dragged him away by main force:

sheer, pure, utter, downright, mere, plain, brute, stark, absolute, out-and-out, direct.

noun

literary

the Spanish Main:

sea, ocean, deep, brine;

informal , dated the drink;

British, informal , dated the briny.

□ in the main

mainly, mostly, for the most part, on the whole, largely, by and large, to a large extent, to a great degree, predominantly, chiefly, principally;

generally, usually, typically, commonly, as a rule, on average.