The Collaborative International Dictionary
Main \Main\ (m[=a]n), a. [From Main strength, possibly influenced by OF. maine, magne, great, L. magnus. Cf. Magnate.]
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Very or extremely strong. [Obs.]
That current with main fury ran.
--Daniel. Vast; huge. [Obs.] ``The main abyss.''
--Milton.Unqualified; absolute; entire; sheer. [Obs.] ``It's a man untruth.''
--Sir W. Scott.-
Principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc.; as, the main reason to go; the main proponent.
Our main interest is to be happy as we can.
--Tillotson. -
Important; necessary. [Obs.] That which thou aright Believest so main to our success, I bring. --Milton. By main force, by mere force or sheer force; by violent effort; as, to subdue insurrection by main force. That Maine which by main force Warwick did win. --Shak. By main strength, by sheer strength; as, to lift a heavy weight by main strength. Main beam (Steam Engine), working beam. Main boom (Naut.), the boom which extends the foot of the mainsail in a fore and aft vessel. Main brace.
(Mech.) The brace which resists the chief strain. Cf. Counter brace.
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(Naut.) The brace attached to the main yard.
Main center (Steam Engine), a shaft upon which a working beam or side lever swings.
Main chance. See under Chance.
Main couple (Arch.), the principal truss in a roof.
Main deck (Naut.), the deck next below the spar deck; the principal deck.
Main keel (Naut.), the principal or true keel of a vessel, as distinguished from the false keel.
Syn: Principal; chief; leading; cardinal; capital.
Usage examples of "main beam".
Strippers and analyzers were busily at work on the fringes of the beam, dissecting out, isolating, and identifying each of the many scraps of extraneous thought accompanying the main beam.
The next nanosecond the main beam creased him, and the glowing particles on its periphery blasted thousands of invisible holes in the shield.
Rods, beams, planes, and stilettos of unbearable energy the doomed fleet launched, in addition to its terrifically destructive main beam: Roger hurled every material weapon at his command.
Already, huge beam stations had been set up, and great sunbeams reached out to tap the main beam, and hour after hour, great fan arcs reached out across the ground, and the burning arcs caught the snow, converted it in an instant to vapor at thousands of degrees-and smashed the snow back to pure oxygen and nitrogen, the lesser oxides of nitrogen breaking down instantly in the arc.
It reoriented its radars, focusing its main beam down on the target.
It was the main beam: the laserlike concentrated ray of this world's sun, reflected downward from the solar satellite that orbited in fixed position above.
He sighted his main beam gun on the Rider, then shifted his aim and fired.
Schaffer had the headlights switched on main beam, illuminating the runway, and the post-bus engine running as the black squat shape of the Mosquito, air-brakes fully extended, lined up for its approach to the runway, and had the bus itself moving, accelerating quickly through the gears, as the Mosquito sank down over the top of the bus and settled down beautifully without the slightest suspicion of a bounce.