MAINSTREAM Definition & Meaning

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mainstream

[ meyn-streem ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the principal or dominant course, tendency, or trend:
the mainstream of American culture.
a river having tributaries.
regular school classes or regular schools:
keeping autistic students in the mainstream.

adjective

belonging to or characteristic of a principal, dominant, or widely accepted group, movement, style, etc.:
mainstream Republicans;
a mainstream artist;
mainstream media.
of, relating to, or characteristic of jazz falling historically between Dixieland and modern jazz; specifically, swing music. Compare traditional ( def 5 ).

verb (used with object)

to send into the mainstream; cause to join the main force, group, etc.:
to mainstream young people into the labor force.
to place (students with disabilities) in regular school classes.

verb (used without object)

to join or be placed in the mainstream.

mainstream

/ ˈ��ɪ��ˌ��ٰ��ː�� /

noun

1. the main current (of a river, cultural trend, etc)
  in the mainstream of modern literature
2. ( as modifier )
  mainstream politics

adjective

of or relating to the style of jazz that lies between the traditional and the modern

mainstream

The prevailing current or direction of a movement or influence: “The candidate's speech represented the mainstream thinking on economic policy.”

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of mainstream¹

First recorded in 1660–70; main ¹ + stream

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Instead, the already-porous boundary between the mainstream GOP and the conspiracy cult has collapsed completely.

From

Despite the roiling storms she was navigating in her private life, Brinkley’s public persona was expanding beyond fashion’s gilt frame into the American mainstream.

From

August Wilson made it his mission to put the rituals of Black life onstage, to give representation to the daily customs of a people who had been denied visibility in mainstream culture.

From

Rzeznik: It wound up working in our favor, but we didn’t fit into the grunge thing, we didn’t fit into the alt-rock thing, we didn’t fit into mainstream music.

From

As therapy becomes more mainstream, there is a specialty that’s hiding in the shadows — financial therapy.

From

main store mainstream corporation tax

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