verb
definition
Short for mainline.
definition
To mainly play a specific character, or side, during a game.
example
He mains the same character as me in that game.
definition
Of a road: to convert into a main or primary road.
noun
definition
That which is chief or principal; the chief or main portion; the bulk, the greater part, gross.
definition
A large cable or pipe providing utility service to an area or a building, such as a water main or electric main.
definition
Short for main course.
example
I had scampi and chips for my main and a slice of cheesecake for dessert.
definition
The high seas.
definition
The mainland.
definition
Short for mainsail.
definition
(except in might and main) Force, power, strength, violent effort.
noun
definition
A hand or match in a game of dice.
definition
The largest throw in a match at dice; in the game of hazard, a number from one to nine called out by a person before the dice are thrown.
definition
A stake played for at dice.
definition
A sporting contest or match, especially a cockfighting match.
definition
A banker's shovel for coins.
noun
definition
A basket for gathering grapes.
noun
definition
The domestic electrical power supply.
example
I plugged it into the mains and it blew up!
definition
The pipes of a centralized water supply that transport the water to individual buildings.
definition
The main course of a meal.
Examples of mains in a Sentence
The steam mains to the houses are laid by the supply company; the internal pipes and fittings are paid for or rented by the occupier, costing for an installation from £30 for an ordinary eight-roomed house to £Ioo or more for larger buildings.
In first cost the hydraulic crane has the advantage, but the power mains are much less expensive and more convenient to arrange in the electric crane.
The cost of intra-urban railways depends not only on the type of construction, but more especially upon local conditions, such as the nature of the soil, the presence of subsurface structures, like sewers, water and gas mains, electric conduits, &c.; the necessity of permanent underpinning or temporary supporting of house foundations, the cost of acquiring land passed under or over when street lines are not followed, and, in the case of elevated railways, the cost of acquiring easements of light, air and access, which the courts have held are vested in the abutting property.
In the parish of Lochrutton, a few miles south-west of Maxwelltown, there is a good example of a stone circle, the "Seven Grey Sisters," and an old peel-tower in the Mains of Hills.
On again F J J raising the piston the valve E opens ?g G admitting more liquid whilst F re- mains closed.
When acetylene was first introduced on a commercial scale grave fears were entertained as to its safety, it being represented that it had the power of combining with certain metals, more especially copper and silver, to form acetylides of a highly explosive character, and that even with coal gas, which contains less than i %, such copper compounds had been known to be formed in cases where the gas-distributing mains were composed of copper, and that accidents had happened from this cause.
In the first example, which was erected on the quay at Newcastle in 1846, the necessary pressure was obtained from the ordinary water mains of the town; but the merits and advantages of the device soon became widely appreciated, and a demand arose for the erection of cranes in positions where the pressure afforded by the mains was insufficient.
Hence, when in 1850 a hydraulic installation was required for a new ferry station at New Holland, on the Humber estuary, the absence of water mains of any kind, coupled with the prohibitive cost of a special reservoir owing to the character of the soil, impelled him to invent a fresh piece of apparatus, the "accumulator," which consists of a large cylinder containing a piston that can be loaded to give any desired pressure, the water being pumped in below it by a steam-engine or other prime mover.
The shunted voltameter was then inserted in series with the electric supply mains leading to the house or building taking electric energy, and the current which passed dissolved the zinc from one plate and deposited it upon the other, so that after a certain interval of time had elapsed the altered weight of the plates enabled the quantity of electricity to be determined from the known fact that an electric current of one ampere, flowing for one hour, removes 1.2533 grammes of zinc from a solution of sulphate of zinc. Hence the quantity in amperehours passing through the electrolytic cell being known and the fraction of the whole quantity taken by the cell being known, the quantity supplied to the house was determined.
The current to be measured passes through the fixed field-coils, whilst through the armature passes a shunt current obtained by connecting the brushes across the supply mains through a constant resistance.
In proximity to the upper side of the disk is placed a coil of wire having an iron core, which is a shunt coil, the ends of the coil being connected to the terminals of the supply mains.
The current in the shunt coil lags 90 degrees behind the impressed electromotive force of the circuit to be measured; hence if the main current is in step with the potential difference of the terminals of the supply mains, which is the case when the supply is given wholly to electric lamps, then the field due to the main coil differs from that due to the shunt coil by 90 degrees.
With the increasing price of copper, it is coming into vogue as an electrical conductor for uncovered mains; it is found that an aluminium wire 0.126 in.
The mains should be placed under the walks for safety, and also that they may be easily reached when repairs are required.
That for the thin-walled water mains must combine strength with the fluidity needed to enable it to run freely into its narrow moulds; that for most machinery must be soft enough to be cut easily to an exact shape; that for hydraulic cylinders must combine strength with density lest the water leak through; and that for car-wheels must be intensely hard in its wearing parts, but in its other parts it must have that shock-resisting power which can be had only along with great softness.
Fortunately its embrittling effect on cast iron is very much less than on steel, so that the upper limit or greatest tolerable proportion of phosphorus, instead of being o.10 or better 0.08% as in the case of rail steel, may be put at 0.50% in case of machinery castings even if they are exposed to moderate shocks; at 1.60% for gas and water mains in spite of the gravity of the disasters which extreme brittleness here might cause; and even higher for castings which are not exposed to shock, and are so thin that the iron of which they are made must needs be very fluid.
He went to an old enemy of his father, Frederick, archbishop of Mains, and the two plotted together against the king, who, hearing of their proceedings, returned to Germany in 952, leaving Duke Conrad of Lorraine as his representative in Italy.
The water-supply is now brought in through iron mains from the Cordilleras 53 m.
Edison, with copious ingenuity, devised electric meters, electric mains, lamp fittings and generators complete for the purpose.
Provision is made for filling the mains with salt water from the bay if necessary in fighting fire.
The city is divided into twelve radial systems, each with a pumping station, and the drainage is forced through five mains to eighteen sewage farms, each of which is under careful sanitary supervision, in respect both of the persons employed thereon, and the products, mainly milk, passing thence to the city for human consumption.
Where the council do supply water, they have the same powers of carrying mains under streets or through private lands as they have with respect to the laying of sewers, as already mentioned.
On the introduction of the Waterworks Clauses Act 1847, an impetus was given to high-pressure supplies, and the same systems of distributing mains were frequently employed for the purpose; but with few exceptions the water continued to be supplied intermittently, and cisterns or tanks were necessary to store it for use during the periods of intermission.
But even in entirely new distributing systems the network is so extensive, and the number of joints so great, that the aggregate leakage is always considerable; the greatest loss being at the so-called " ferrules " connecting the mains with the house " communication " or " service " pipes, in the lead pipes, and in the household fittings.
In the upper part there is consequently a tendency to the formation of a vacuum, and some of the impure sub-soil water near the higher leakages is sucked into the mains, to be mixed with the supply when next turned on.
Accordingly, in some places large sections of the mains and service pipes were entirely renewed, Constant and the water consumers were put to great expense in supply.
But this did not obviate the necessity for house - to-house inspection, and although the number of different points at which leakage occurred was still great, it was always small in relation to the number of houses which were necessarily entered by the inspector; moreover, when the best had been done that possibly could be done to suppress leakage due to domestic fittings, the leakage below ground in the mains, ferrules and service pipes still remained, and was often very great.
Similar examinations by means of the stop-valves on the mains are also made, and it often happens that the residual leakage (400 gallons an hour in the last case) recorded on the diagram, but not shut off by the house stop - cocks, is mentioned by the inspector as an " outside waste," and localized as having been heard at a stop-cock and traced by sounding the pavement to a particular position under a particular street.
The system, however, does not assist in the detection of the leakage which inevitably occurs between the reservoir and the consumer's meter; thus the whole of the mains, joints and ferrules connecting the service pipes with the mains, and the greater parts of the service pipes, are still exposed to leakage without any compensating return to the water authority.
The series of operations connected with the manufacture and distribution of coal gas embraces the processes of distillation, condensation, exhaustion, wet purification by washing and scrubbing, dry purification, measuring, storing and distribution to the mains whence the consumer's supply is drawn.
It is powered by an external 12 volt battery or a mains supply using an optional adapter.
No, a combi boiler runs directly from the mains, you cannot pump mains pressure.
Mains gas fired central heating warms the home, in which all fitted carpets are to remain.
When charging is complete, unplug the charger from the mains first and then from the battery.
Never leave a mobile phone charger plugged into the mains.
A thorough check of all the mains wiring found one loose earth wire.
In 2003 with a big cruise pending, I recovered an ELCB and some magnetic mains circuit breakers from a scrapped power distribution box.
For mains, I had the crisp duck confit with scallion mash and onion marmalade, which came as a surprisingly large portion.
An integral strainer on the inlet side should prevent possible malfunction from particulate contaminants in the mains gas supply.
Mains range from £ 12.50 for polenta, mushroom and goat's curd to £ 21.50 for the sea bass.
Mains fed smoke detector with battery back up fitted to hall.
The Portable can be easily dismounted for use, utilizing the internal 9V battery or mains power.
Budget drip watering system offering the benefits of drip watering system offering the benefits of drip watering without the need for mains water supply.
A high-power mains fencer unit is recommended for a permanent fence of this kind, because it needs less maintenance than a battery-operated one.
But, six months after the new pavements were laid, Transco ripped them up to replace the gas mains.
For all gherkin haters try wiring gherkin haters try wiring gherkins to mains electricity!
Meat mains include interesting offerings such as minced lamb with parsley, pine kernels & onions or whole quail seasoned with coriander.
Mr C had a wonderfull mains rechargeable camping lantern which he had bought from Marks & Spencer some time ago.
Thames Water has replaced 250 miles of London's oldest mains, in a huge project to reduce leakage across the capital.
The unit is mains powered but can be fitted with a back up battery in case of mains powered but can be fitted with a back up battery in case of mains failure.