mains
/meɪnz/noun, verb
mains is spelled M-A-I-N-S: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mains means “The domestic electrical power supply, especially as connected to a network or grid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in mains?
| Letters | 5: M-A-I-N-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.8 times per million words; the 16,005th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mains?
Mains appears 2.8 times per million words in written English, the 16,005th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mains?
- UK /meɪnz/
Mains has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-mains.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with mains?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mains from its last stressed vowel (/eɪnz/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: manis.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does mains mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
UKThe domestic electrical power supply, especially as connected to a network or grid.
I plugged it into the mains and it blew up!
- 2
UKA large-scale network or grid supplying any of various other services, such as water, gas or sewerage, to properties.
We have gas heating, but it's bottled gas, not mains gas.
- 3
The main course of a meal.
- 4
ScotlandThe farm attached to a mansion house.
- 5
plural of main
verb
- 1
third-person singular simple present indicative of main
noun
- 1
plural of Main
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mains in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense domestic electrical supply:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Stromnetz |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mains come from?
Related to manse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).