plural mainstays
1
a
: a crucial or key part of something
Fish is the mainstay of their diet.
Tourism is a mainstay of the city's economy.
The mainstay of treatment for chronic hives of unknown origin is antihistamine medications.—
Mayo Clinic Health Letter
Mayo Clinic Health Letter
b
: someone or something that is a principal or reliable support or resource
Tourism is one of the city's economic mainstays.
Her immense pride in him and unquestioning support were among the few mainstays in his life.—Robert V. Remini
Robert V. Remini2
: a ship's stay (see stay entry 1 sense 1) extending from the maintop forward usually to the foot of the foremast
Synonyms
Examples of mainstay in a Sentence
Fish is a mainstay of their diet.
My mother has always been the mainstay of our family.
Recent Examples on the Web
Commercial humdrum use of AI will be the mainstay, while breathtaking breakthroughs in AI will be discovered in other countries but not here.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
Another brother, Michael, is a mainstay with the Denver Nuggets.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 15 Jan. 2025
Why Put Onion Jam On Salmon? Growing up, salmon was a weeknight mainstay in my family.
—Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2025
Actors Have Short Memories While Bates may have been helped by being an onscreen mainstay all these years, nearly half of the TV nominations were given to shows that premiered in the last four months of eligibility.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 8 Jan. 2025
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Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
Another brother, Michael, is a mainstay with the Denver Nuggets.
—Ryan Morik, Fox News, 15 Jan. 2025
Why Put Onion Jam On Salmon? Growing up, salmon was a weeknight mainstay in my family.
—Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 12 Jan. 2025
Actors Have Short Memories While Bates may have been helped by being an onscreen mainstay all these years, nearly half of the TV nominations were given to shows that premiered in the last four months of eligibility.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 8 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mainstay
Dictionary Entries Near mainstay
Cite this Entry
“Mainstay.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mainstay. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mainstay
noun
main·stay
-ˌstā 
1
: a large strong rope running from the maintop of a ship usually to the foot of the foremast
2
: a chief support
the mainstay of the family
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