main

Main is a versatile term in English and in proper nouns. As an adjective, main means chief or principal, and appears in phrases like the main reason, the main course, and on Main Street. It conveys priority or significance rather than mere size.

As a noun, main refers to a central or primary infrastructure line, such as water mains, gas mains, or power mains, used to deliver utilities to homes and businesses.

The Main River is a major river in central Europe that flows through the German states of Bavaria and Hesse before joining the Rhine at Mainz. It is an important waterway for regional transportation and commerce and passes through several major cities, including Frankfurt am Main.

In computing, main denotes the entry point of many programs. In C and C++, the function int main() is the starting point; in Java, the entry point is public static void main(String[] args). The concept of a main routine is central to how many programming languages initialize and control program execution.