Dictionary

mainstay en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈmeɪn.steɪ/

Etymology

From Middle English main stai, equivalent to main + stay (“rope”).

Meanings

1. A chief support.
   • As with most other railways, freight revenue is the mainstay of the balance sheet. In Canada, passenger revenue is only about one-tenth that of freight. 1959 November, J. N. Westwood, “The Railways of Canada”, in Trains Illustrated, page 555:
   • At the other extreme, we have that true maid-of-all-work type, the 0-6-0, the mainstay of goods, shunting, and often of passenger work right from the earliest days to the present time. 1945 November and December, H. C. Casserley, “Random Reflections on British Locomotive Types—1”, in Railway Magazine, page 319:
   • Conventional radiography has a major role in, and remains the mainstay of, initial evaluation and follow-up of rheumatologic disease. 2014, Marc C. Hochberg, Alan J. Silman, Josef S. Smolen, Rheumatology, →ISBN, page 307:
   • Agriculture is the mainstay of this country’s economy.
   • Oil is the mainstay of Nigeria's economy. 2000, Jedrzej George Frynas, Oil in Nigeria, →ISBN:
2. Someone or something that can be depended on to make a regular contribution.
   • Crickets are a mainstay of panfishing with live bait—and a mainstay of bait shops—but they come off the hook easily and you'll be plagued by minnows and tiny fish constantly stealing your bait. 2010, Lamar Underwood, 1001 Fishing Tips, →ISBN:
   • The marina was a mainstay of the neighborhood, and Mr. O’Rourke was known for staging salsa and merengue concerts. 2007 January 7, Alex Mindlin, “For a Shuttered Marina, Some Regret, Some Relief”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 11 Apr 2021:
   • Afternoon TV mainstays like Leila Benitez and Bobby Ledesma of Darigold Jamboree gradually gave way to teenage loveteams Vi and Bot and Guy and Pip who had legions of fans watching their shows and movies and listening to their records. 2002, Pia B. Gutierrez, The changing face of the Filipino, page 35:
   • Like show dogs, dog actors became a mainstay in European and American contexts from the early nineteenth century with the convergence of public sentiment for dogs and popular interest in training them. 2004, Susan McHugh, Dog, →ISBN:
   • Lauren Hemp, making her 50th appearance for the Lionesses, was preferred in central attack over mainstay Russo, while Chelsea centre-back Jess Carter was the chosen replacement for injured club team-mate Millie Bright. 2023 December 1, Emma Sanders, “England 3-2 Netherlands”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2024:
   • On the Bishops Stortford line, the crisis now seems to be over; the units designed for this service are the mainstay of the workings once again and although some of the inner suburban sets are still seen, very few L.T.S. Line units are noticeable. 1963 January, “Motive power miscellany”, in Modern Railways, page 65:
   • I expected the open-air markets, but defrosted bouillabaisse and canned ratatouille weren’t what I imagined to be staples of Parisian culinary life. Yet they’ve become mainstays. 2025 November 3, Julia Belluz, “The French Secret to Eating Healthy? Prepared Food and Frozen Dinners.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Nov 2025:
   • X-Men: Apocalypse, directed by series mainstay Bryan Singer, gives Magneto, the Holocaust survivor who can control magnetic fields, and Xavier, the paraplegic telepath who tends to come off as really smug, next-to-zero shared screen time. 2016 May 23, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, “Apocalypse pits the strengths of the X-Men series against the weaknesses”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 19 Aug 2017:
3. A stabilising rope from high on the mainmast to the base of the foremast.

Forms

Translations (49)

de Stützpfeiler (chief support) · ga comhla chatha (chief support) · sv stöttepelare (chief support) · nl steunpilaar (chief support) · hu bástya (chief support) · it pilastro (chief support) · de Großstag (nautical: stabilizing rope) · cmn 支柱 (chief support) · fr pilier (chief support) · ca estai major (nautical: stabilizing rope) · ru опло́т (chief support) · fi selkäranka (chief support) · ru опо́ра (chief support) · et tugisammas (chief support) · fr grand étai (nautical: stabilizing rope) · eo ĉefsubtenanto (chief support) · eo ĉefsubtenantilo (chief support) · es estay mayor (nautical: stabilizing rope) · it base (chief support) · bg гротщаг (nautical: stabilizing rope) · et groottaak (nautical: stabilizing rope) · de feste Größe (something that can be depended on to make a regular contribution) · cmn 中流砥柱 (chief support) · fi tukipilari (chief support) · hu támasz (chief support) · hu oszlop (chief support) · pt esteio (nautical: stabilizing rope) · sv hörnsten (chief support) · nl grootstag (nautical: stabilizing rope) · fi kantava voima (something that can be depended on to make a regular contribution) · de Stütze (chief support) · bg опора (chief support) · ru тверды́ня (chief support) · es pilar (chief support) · ca puntal (chief support) · bg устои (chief support) · hu erősség (chief support) · pt carro-chefe (chief support) · de tragende Säule (chief support) · ru гро́та-шта́г (nautical: stabilizing rope) · fi isoharus (nautical: stabilizing rope) · hu talpkő (chief support) · de Standbein (chief support) · de Hauptstag (nautical: stabilizing rope) · sv storstag (nautical: stabilizing rope) · ko 기둥 (something that can be depended on to make a regular contribution) · nl hoofdpijler (chief support) · hu pillér (chief support) · fi kulmakivi (chief support)