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mainstay

[meyn-stey] / ˈmeɪnˌsteɪ /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Agriculture and farming are a mainstay of North Dakota’s economy.

From Salon Jul. 26, 2026

The Smithsonian Institution, founded nearly two centuries ago, is a Washington mainstay whose 21 museums are largely dedicated to US history and culture, as well as art.

From Barron's Jul. 24, 2026

Gallows humor, another military mainstay, plays a similar role, allowing service members to literally laugh at death.

From Slate Jul. 10, 2026

The operating margin in the company’s mainstay automotive division will meanwhile likely be within a range of 1%-3% for the year, a weaker estimate than the 4%-6% BMW had previously expected.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 16, 2026

Millions of acres of forests were sprayed instead of thou sands as before, in an effort to save the balsams, which are the mainstay of the pulp and paper industry.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

The film is directed by Jon Erwin, one of the in-house Angel Studios mainstays, who also helmed “Jesus Revolution,” “I Still Believe” and “I Can Only Imagine.”

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 2, 2026

The two winners will sit in New York’s Celebrity Row, a section that typically features mainstays like Ben Stiller, Fat Joe and Timothee Chalamet.

From MarketWatch Jun. 8, 2026

And of course the other mainstays, Declan Rice and Harry Kane.

From BBC Apr. 1, 2026

From Beyoncé to Taylor Swift — whose big-budget tour spectacles received theatrical releases — to Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish’s more modest streaming affairs, tour documentaries and concert films have become modern mainstays.

From Salon Feb. 8, 2026

By contrast, swine, mainstays of European agriculture, transmit anthrax, brucellosis, leptospirosis, trichinosis, and tuberculosis.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann




Vocabulary lists containing mainstay


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