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mains

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mains¹

  • /meɪnz/ UK

Rhymes with -eɪnz

noun

  1. plural plural of main

noun

  1. UK, uncountable The domestic electrical power supply, especially as connected to a network or grid. I plugged it into the mains and it blew up!
  2. UK, uncountable A large-scale network or grid supplying any of various other services, such as water, gas or sewerage, to properties. We have gas heating, but it's bottled gas, not mains gas.
  3. uncountable The main course of a meal.

verb

  1. indicative, present, singular, third person third-person singular simple present indicative of main

mains²

  • /meɪnz/ UK

Rhymes with -eɪnz

Where it comes from

Related to manse.

noun mains

  1. Scotland The farm attached to a mansion house. Though no minister would visit the Skerburnfoot, or, if he went, departed quicker than he came, the girl Ailie attended regular at the catechising at the mains of Sker.

    Similar: home farm

Mains³

noun

  1. plural plural of Main

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: principal, primary, important, independent, chief, intense, briny, of import, electrical, waterworks, sector, connector, network, lines, power, feeding

Translations

Every language

noun domestic electrical supply

DeutschStromnetz

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Cite this
MLA

"mains." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mains. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mains. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mains

Chicago

"mains." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mains.

BibTeX
@misc{mains_2026,
  title = {mains},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mains},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}