The meaning of MAINSTAY is a crucial or key part of something. How to use mainstay in a sentence.

MAINSTAY meaning: 1. the most important part of something, providing support for everything else: 2. the most…. Learn more.

If you describe something as the mainstay of a particular thing, you mean that it is the most basic part of it. Fish and rice were the mainstays of the country's diet.

MAINSTAY definition: the stay that secures the mainmast forward. See examples of mainstay used in a sentence.

Definition of mainstay noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

mainstay, n. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary

Nov 3, 2025 · Noun [edit] mainstay (plural mainstays) A chief support. quotations Agriculture is the mainstay of this country’s economy.

main•stay (mān′ stā′), n. Nautical the stay that secures the mainmast forward. a person or thing that acts as a chief support or part: Coffee is the mainstay of the country's economy.

A mainstay is something that acts as a source of support for a community. If your hometown's economy depends on tourists visiting every summer, you could say that tourism is the …

MAINSTAY meaning: a very important part of something something or someone that provides support and makes it possible for something to exist or succeed