Meanings
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1
noun
a person or thing on which something chiefly depends for support or stability
Tourism remained the mainstay of the island's economy.
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2
noun
a strong rope or cable supporting a sailing ship's mainmast from the front
The crew inspected the mainstay before the ship left harbor.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Middle English main stay, a nautical compound of main (referring to the mainmast) + stay ("supporting rope"). The figurative sense arose by treating a crucial person or institution as the cable that keeps a mast upright.