main street
noun
Simple meaning
Any small town.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
maynstreetSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmeɪnstˈɹit
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Any small town (or the people who inhabit it); generally used to represent parochialism and materialism (after a novel by Sinclair Lewis)
The generic street name (and often the official name) of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in the United States, Canada, Ireland, some parts of Scotland and also in some countries in central Europe.
Street that serves as a principal thoroughfare for traffic in a town
The principal street, or one of the several principal streets, of a town.
idiomaticCanadaUScollective
Everyday working-class people and small business owners, especially with regard to their concerns, social views, etc.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Any small town (or the people who inhabit it); generally used to represent parochialism and materialism (after a novel by Sinclair Lewis)
Used this way, main street is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It turns up most in literature or storytelling contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Literature/storytelling
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “main street” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.