Synonyms

mainstream

American

[meyn-streem] / ˈmeɪnˌstrim /

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.

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 British

/ ˈmeɪnˌstriːm /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

mainstream Cultural

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

Etymology

Origin of mainstream

First recorded in 1660–70; main ¹ + stream

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.

While Claude already had been increasingly winning respect in the developer community for AI coding tools, Anthropic could increase its appeal with a mainstream user base if the backlash against OpenAI has a lasting effect.

From MarketWatch

For a blip in this post-Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” era, when queerness is once again taboo, the counterculture went mainstream.

From Salon

It has suddenly become mainstream to think wildly.

From The Wall Street Journal

But in the last week, debates about how to make these decisions, as well as who is responsible for them, have broken into the mainstream.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023