# mains

Pronunciation: say "MAYNZ" /meɪnz/

## Noun

1. The public electrical power supply delivered to homes, especially through a connected network or grid. *(British)*
   - Simple: The electric power that comes into a home from the public supply network.
   - _The technician checked whether the appliance was drawing power from the mains._
   - _During the outage, the hospital switched from the mains to its backup generators._
2. The principal dish of a meal, typically following the appetizer.
   - Simple: The biggest dish of a meal, usually eaten after the appetizer.
   - _The waiter cleared away the starters before bringing out the mains._
   - _Several diners complained that their mains arrived lukewarm._
3. A large-scale network of pipes or channels that delivers services such as water, gas, or sewerage to buildings. *(British)*
   - Simple: The large pipe network that brings water, gas, or waste services to buildings.
   - _Engineers shut off the mains while they replaced a cracked section of pipe._
   - _The flooding began when the mains beneath the road ruptured overnight._
4. Plural of main. — plural of main
   - Simple: Plural of main. Use this form when you mean more than one main.
   - _Two gas mains run directly beneath this junction._
   - _The mains carry water from the reservoir down to the town._
5. The home farm belonging to and attached to a mansion or estate house. *(dialectal, Scotland)*
   - Simple: The farm that belongs to and sits next to a large country house.
   - _The estate's mains provided grain and dairy for the entire household._
   - _A tenant managed the mains while the family was away in the city._

## Verb

6. Third-person singular simple present of main. — third-person singular simple present indicative of main
   - Simple: Third-person singular present of main. Use it with he, she, or it.
   - _She mains a support character in competitive play._
   - _He always mains the tank in their ranked games._

## Origin

Related to manse.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mains (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).