Mainstay

//ˈmeɪn.steɪ// noun

noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A chief support.

    "Agriculture is the mainstay of this country’s economy."

  2. 2
    the forestay that braces the mainmast wordnet
  3. 3
    Someone or something that can be depended on to make a regular contribution.

    "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."

  4. 4
    a central cohesive source of support and stability wordnet
  5. 5
    A stabilising rope from high on the mainmast to the base of the foremast.
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  1. 6
    a prominent supporter wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
pillarabettoractoradmireradvocateafford support

Example

More examples

"He was the mainstay of this family."

Etymology

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

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.