mainstay
/ˈmeɪn.steɪ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.06 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Someone or something that can be depended on to make a regular contribution.
Example Sentences
- "Agriculture is the mainstay of this country’s economy."
- "At the other extreme, we have that true maid-of-all-work type, the 0-6-0, the mainstay of goods, shunting, and often of passenger work right from the earliest days to the present time."
- "As with most other railways, freight revenue is the mainstay of the balance sheet. In Canada, passenger revenue is only about one-tenth that of freight."
- "Oil is the mainstay of Nigeria's economy."
- "Conventional radiography has a major role in, and remains the mainstay of, initial evaluation and follow-up of rheumatologic disease."
- "On the Bishops Stortford line, the crisis now seems to be over; the units designed for this service are the mainstay of the workings once again and although some of the inner suburban sets are still seen, very few L.T.S. Line units are noticeable."