Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The farm or fields attached to a mansion-house; the home farm.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Electricity) The source of electrical power in a building; the wiring system of a building.
  • noun Scot. or Brit. dial. The farm attached to a mansion house; a manse.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Plural form of main.
  • noun chiefly UK The domestic electrical power supply.
  • noun The pipes of a centralized water supply that transport the water to individual buildings.
  • noun Scotland The farm attached to a mansion house.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The pressure in the city mains is often not sufficient to raise the water to the second story roof level during peak demand periods -- most of the day -- but there is enough pressure at night.

    House Project Update for 7 December 02 2002

  • The pressure in the city mains is often not sufficient to raise the water to the second story roof level during peak demand periods -- most of the day -- but there is enough pressure at night.

    House Project Update for 7 December 02 2002

  • I called the mains and won his crowns -- he was a mere baby at the game -- but half my mind was elsewhere.

    Under the Red Robe Stanley John Weyman 1891

  • They camped at the table, all the five of them, and some while their greed kept them wakeful, and they called the mains, but their drought kept them drinking.

    A Monk of Fife Andrew Lang 1878

  • Definitely, though the mains are a bit short on veg, which you have to order as a (pricey) extra.

    Telegraph.co.uk: news, business, sport, the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Sunday Telegraph 2010

  • The menu doesn't throw up any real surprises in the gastro era, although some of the mains are a bit pricey - £10 for a burger!

    Evening Standard - Home 2009

  • The story does not actually tell us if these lights still have any kind of mains supply?

    Ross Lovegrove Solar Trees in Vienna | Inhabitat 2007

  • Additional items such as mains electricity transformers, concrete mixers, tile testing and quality control equipment, special tile kits

    Chapter 10 1997

  • In the political arena, once the governorship candidate has emerged, everybody settles down; what remains is to plug their selfish interests onto the "mains" of the governor, not bothering much about the person's specifications of his running mate, who, in reality, is a

    Vanguard 2010

  • A three-course set lunch featuring mains such as mains such as Sous Vide Of Beef Cheeks pasta starts from a very reasonable $26.

    TODAYonline 2010

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