mainline
mainline Lexical Profile
mainline Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Belonging to or characteristic of a principal, established, or traditional group, movement, or religious denomination.
"Several mainline Protestant denominations collaborated on the community charity initiative."
Relating to or operating along a primary railway line, highway, or utility route.
"The transit authority announced major upgrades to all mainline stations before the winter season."
• noun
A principal railway track, road, or utility conduit through which major traffic or supply flows.
"Freight trains were delayed for hours after a fallen tree blocked the mainline."
In corded ropes or fishing gear, the principal line to which secondary lines, hooks, or leaders are attached.
"The angler carefully tied the fluorocarbon leader onto the braided mainline."
• verb
To inject a narcotic drug directly into a principal vein, or figuratively to consume something rapidly and in large quantities.
"During finals week, the exhausted students joked that they were mainlining espresso just to stay awake."
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the 19th century as a compound of 'main' and 'line', originally designating the principal track of a railway system before acquiring its slang sense of a major vein in the 1930s.