Other forms: mainstreaming
Mainstream describes what most people like, watch, buy and believe — the middle of the river rather than the edges. Mainstream music, mainstream politics, a mainstream newspaper.
It is a word of position, not of quality, and which way it leans depends entirely on who is speaking. From inside, mainstream means normal and reasonable; from outside, it means safe, commercial and a little dull. That double edge is the whole point of the word, and it is why an artist described as going mainstream is being congratulated by some people and written off by others in the same sentence. The verb, to mainstream something, is narrower and mostly official: bringing a group or an idea into ordinary provision rather than a special one.
1adjectivemainstreamBelonging to what most people accept, like or take part in.
“The band signed to a major label and went mainstream.”
synonyms: conventional, popular
2nounideasThe ideas or tastes shared by most people.
“Those views have moved from the fringe into the mainstream.”
3verbbringTo bring something into ordinary general provision instead of treating it separately.
“The policy mainstreams children with disabilities into local schools.”
mainstream is a position in a culture.
From main + stream. Cognate with Icelandic meginstraumur (“a main current, mainstream”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA
Practised in Music, Art & Culture, News & Communication