Mainstream Meaning
/meɪn.stɹiːm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjUsed or accepted broadly rather than by small portions of population, market, scientific community, etc.
nounThe principal current in a flow, such as a river or flow of air
Sentence Examples
Outside the mainstream of orthodox Judaism, the apocalyptic books were more successful with certain movements.
This author is critical of the mainstream media.
His radical views place him outside the mainstream of American politics.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The artist's unusual style was not accepted by the ____ of the art world.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The artist's work has finally entered the ____ and is now being shown in some of the world's top galleries.
Word Origin & History
From main + stream. Cognate with Icelandic meginstraumur (“a main current, mainstream”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"As unsubstantiated claims receive significant backing, skeptics and defenders of mainstream science enter the fray."
— 2011, Taner Edis, Science and Nonbelief, Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 153:
"The mainstream media hones in on bad news stories where UK railways are concerned, yet gives scant attention to the many items of good news emerging from the network."
— 2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Aylesbury (2009)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 61:
"If Ms. Le Pen looks more mainstream now, it’s because the mainstream looks more like her."
— 2022 April 20, Rim-Sarah Alouane, “Marine Le Pen Is as Dangerous as Ever”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
"George Herbert Walker Bush of Phillips Andover Academy and Yale University proclaimed in the first Presidential candidates' debate that he was “in touch with the mainstream of America.”"
— 1988 September 30, Tom Wicker, quoting George H. W. Bush, “Ol' Man Mainstream”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
"Long content with being the BMW of the computer industry, suppying finely crafted machines to a relatively small number of fanatic customers, Apple now wants to become a Ford or Toyota, to move into the mainstream."
— 1991 July 14, Andrew Pollack, “A Quirky Loner Goes Mainstream”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The artist's unusual style was not accepted by the ____ of the art world.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The artist's work has finally entered the ____ and is now being shown in some of the world's top galleries.