main-line

Adjective

mainline (not comparable)

1. Normal, principal or standard.

   Synonyms:

   mainstream

2. (US) Not fundamentalist, charismatic or evangelical.
   • At a time when mainline denominations are engaged in massive closures of small rural churches, independent charismatics are strategically helping to rechurch rural Canada.2010, Steven M. Studebaker, Pentecostalism and Globalization
3. Of or pertaining to the principal route or line of a railway.
4. Of or pertaining to a surface-level heavy rail system as distinct from an underground, elevated or light rail one.
5. Of or pertaining to national or long-distance rail network operators as opposed to urban and suburban operators.
   • Merseyrail and mainline services affected by downpour with more heavy rain forecast2019 June 12, Ben Turner, “Liverpool weather forecast: Trains hit by flooding as rain set to batter Merseyside”, in Liverpool Echo
6. Pertaining to a direct route between two major ports.

   Antonyms:

   feeder

See all 18 meanings of mainline