MAINSTAY: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for MAINSTAY?

Need another word that means the same as “mainstay”? Find 23 synonyms for “mainstay” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Mainstay” are: pillar, anchor, backbone, keystone, linchpin, lynchpin, central component, centrepiece, prop, cornerstone, bulwark, buttress, chief support, foundation, base, bastion, tower of strength, key player, sinew, right-hand man, right-hand woman, right arm, atlas

Mainstay as a Noun

Definitions of "Mainstay" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “mainstay” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• A prominent supporter.
• A stay that extends from the maintop to the foot of the foremast of a sailing ship.
• A central cohesive source of support and stability.
• A person or thing on which something else is based or depends.
• The forestay that braces the mainmast.

Synonyms of "Mainstay" as a noun (23 Words)

anchor	An anchorman or anchorwoman. An anchor chain.
atlas	A figure of a man used as a supporting column. A road atlas.
backbone	The part of a book’s cover that encloses the inner side of the book’s pages and that faces outward when the book is shelved. The backbone is the part of a communication network that carries the heaviest traffic.
base	A known line used as a geometrical base for trigonometry. The attack wiped out our forward bases.
bastion	A natural rock formation resembling a man made bastion. The last bastion of communism.
bulwark	A person or thing that acts as a defence. The security forces are a bulwark against the breakdown of society.
buttress	A support usually of stone or brick; supports the wall of a building. The political police were the main buttress of the regime.
central component	A workplace that serves as a telecommunications facility where lines from telephones can be connected together to permit communication.
centrepiece	An item, issue, etc. intended to be a focus of attention. A domestic programme with healthcare as the centrepiece.
chief support	A person who exercises control over workers.
cornerstone	The fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained. A national minimum wage remained the cornerstone of policy.
foundation	The action of establishing an institution or organization. Apply moisturizer a few minutes before using foundation.
key player	A list of answers to a test.
keystone	The central principle or part of a policy, system, etc., on which all else depends. The keystone of campaign reform was the ban on soft money.
linchpin	Pin inserted through an axletree to hold a wheel on. Nurses are the linchpin of the National Health Service.
lynchpin	Pin inserted through an axletree to hold a wheel on.
pillar	Something shaped like a pillar. He is a pillar of the community.
prop	A propeller that rotates to push against air. He looked around for a prop to pin the door open.
right arm	The interest possessed by law or custom in some intangible thing.
right-hand man	A male subordinate.
right-hand woman	A human female employed to do housework.
sinew	Possessing muscular strength. The sinews in her neck.
tower of strength	A structure taller than its diameter; can stand alone or be attached to a larger building.

Usage Examples of "Mainstay" as a noun

• Farming is the mainstay of the rural economy.